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> county police This is very, very rare. More frequently, we have county Sheriffs, not police. And their duties are quite distinct; only recently have they c

by jMyles 6y ago

> county police This is very, very rare. More frequently, we have county Sheriffs, not police. And their duties are quite distinct; only recently have they come to resemble police. Shrievalty is more concerned with the functioning of the courts: sometimes holding suspects before trial (and maintaining jail facilites), ensuring the security and order of the court, protecting jury members from violent coercion, capturing fugitives, etc. Patrolling and "preventative" enforcement is not a traditional role for the Sheriff.

skissane 6y ago
Country Sheriffs in the US appear to me to do a lot of policing work. For example, Polk County Sheriff (Florida) seems to be busy arresting people for DUI – https://tampa.cbslocal.com/2020/06/06/sheriff-grady-judd-54-dui-arrests-in-may-by-polk-county-sheriffs-office/ https://tampa.cbslocal.com/2020/06/06/sheriff-grady-judd-54-... Sacramento County Sheriff's (Calfornia) has a homicide bureau – https://www.sacsheriff.com/Pages/Organization/CID/Homicide.aspx https://www.sacsheriff.com/Pages/Organization/CID/Homicide.a... Erie County Sheriff (New York) has a drug squad which regularly carries out undercover buy operations – https://www2.erie.gov/sheriff/index.php?q=narcotics-unit https://www2.erie.gov/sheriff/index.php?q=narcotics-unit Washington County Sheriff (Oregon) has a traffic safety unit – https://www.co.washington.or.us/Sheriff/FightingCrime/Patrols/traffic-safety-unit.cfm https://www.co.washington.or.us/Sheriff/FightingCrime/Patrol... Many US counties have unincorporated areas, in which county sheriffs have full police patrol responsibilities. Often, that authority also extends to incorporated areas (villages/towns/smaller cities) which are too small to have their own police departments and rely on the county for all policing functions.
- jMyles 6y ago
  Right right - as I said, "recently have they come to resemble police." But I think that the distinction is still important as we talk about abolishing police. Police, as an institution, are very new. Much newer than Sheriffs.
  - skissane 6y ago
    In Westerns, the Sheriff is investigating everything from petty thefts to murders. In many places, that was all the police they had. Is that historically accurate? Pretty much, yes. The modern concept of a police force only began in the 19th century, and at first they only existed in larger cities. As separate police forces were established, Sheriffs began to perform less policing functions, and yield more of that jurisdiction to the newly established police forces. But, in many rural parts of the US, county sheriffs are the only local law enforcement, performing all police functions, and the same was true 150 years ago. The innovation of separate police forces never arrived in underpopulated rural areas. So I think the history is the opposite of what you think–sheriffs performing general policing functions actually used to be more common than it is now.

by jMyles 6y ago

skissane 6y ago

Country Sheriffs in the US appear to me to do a lot of policing work. For example, Polk County Sheriff (Florida) seems to be busy arresting people for DUI – https://tampa.cbslocal.com/2020/06/06/sheriff-grady-judd-54-dui-arrests-in-may-by-polk-county-sheriffs-office/ https://tampa.cbslocal.com/2020/06/06/sheriff-grady-judd-54-... Sacramento County Sheriff's (Calfornia) has a homicide bureau – https://www.sacsheriff.com/Pages/Organization/CID/Homicide.aspx https://www.sacsheriff.com/Pages/Organization/CID/Homicide.a... Erie County Sheriff (New York) has a drug squad which regularly carries out undercover buy operations – https://www2.erie.gov/sheriff/index.php?q=narcotics-unit https://www2.erie.gov/sheriff/index.php?q=narcotics-unit Washington County Sheriff (Oregon) has a traffic safety unit – https://www.co.washington.or.us/Sheriff/FightingCrime/Patrols/traffic-safety-unit.cfm https://www.co.washington.or.us/Sheriff/FightingCrime/Patrol... Many US counties have unincorporated areas, in which county sheriffs have full police patrol responsibilities. Often, that authority also extends to incorporated areas (villages/towns/smaller cities) which are too small to have their own police departments and rely on the county for all policing functions.

jMyles 6y ago
Right right - as I said, "recently have they come to resemble police." But I think that the distinction is still important as we talk about abolishing police. Police, as an institution, are very new. Much newer than Sheriffs.
- skissane 6y ago
  In Westerns, the Sheriff is investigating everything from petty thefts to murders. In many places, that was all the police they had. Is that historically accurate? Pretty much, yes. The modern concept of a police force only began in the 19th century, and at first they only existed in larger cities. As separate police forces were established, Sheriffs began to perform less policing functions, and yield more of that jurisdiction to the newly established police forces. But, in many rural parts of the US, county sheriffs are the only local law enforcement, performing all police functions, and the same was true 150 years ago. The innovation of separate police forces never arrived in underpopulated rural areas. So I think the history is the opposite of what you think–sheriffs performing general policing functions actually used to be more common than it is now.