– Why doesn’t the police just govern everything the sheriff’s office does?
– Does anyone of them have more authority over the other?
– Why do some officers say that they are a “peace officer” and other say they are “not a peace officer”
– Does a terry stop exist? and what is the difference between that and a normal traffic stop?
20 comments
Sheriff’s are for the county and police are city or municipality
Police are usually employees of the city
Sheriff is an employee of the county
Some communities are so small that the sheriff is the local law enforcement and covers several communities. Some areas are “unincorporated”, meaning they don’t exist within any establish city, so that is sheriff jurisdiction. Sheriff’s also deal with matters involving the county courthouse.
(If I made a mistake here, please share. I only have a basic understanding myself)
There are also state troopers that work for the state as a whole, often as highway patrol. Each type works within the boundaries of their jurisdiction.
My town and the town I went to college in don’t have police. There’s only the sheriff and his deputies. There aren’t enough people to have a police department.
There are tons of exceptions to this, but generally the Sheriff’s Department is over a whole county, and police departments are over a city. In most of the US, this means the Sheriff’s Department has a larger jurisdiction, budget, and typically runs the jail. It can get very nuanced, but typically the Sheriff is the highest ranking law enforcement officer in their county.
Note that Louisiana doesn’t have counties, they have parishes, but everything works the same way. Also in Virginia, cities and counties are mutually exclusive, so if land is part of a city it is no longer in the county. Whereas, in the rest of the US a city is a subdivision of a county. Finally, there are many small cities that are “unified governments”, ie the whole county is in the city limits of a single city, and the county and city governments are now effectively the same thing.
Sheriffs are elected directly by the voters, while police chiefs and commissioners are appointed by the city council or mayor. This can lead to issues with corruption or incompetence, because these Sheriffs are primarily politicians not law enforcement officers, particularly with sheriffs in urban counties. Local to me, the two most urbanized counties have reduced their sheriff’s responsibilities to the legal minimum that they can, which in Georgia is running the jails and providing the bailiffs for the courts. They have created County Police departments that handle the patrol of the county jurisdictions, although the Fulton County Police is now somewhat redundant because the entire county is incorporated into various cities with their own police departments.
Typically, this trend holds up throughout the country. The NYPD is much more important than the NYC Sheriff’s Office. LA is somewhat unusual by having a huge, important Sheriff’s Department.
Outside of urban areas, the Sheriff is often quite powerful in the local government.
No, the sheriff and city police often work together. Troopers stick to the highways, and sometimes you’ll see sheriffs there as well (usually working as a group setting speed traps). Another difference is the actual sheriff is an elected official, with hired deputies under them.
Not to make more confusion, lol, but there are also areas called “unincorporated” areas. They’re parts of a town that don’t consider themselves under the cities jurisdiction. Therefore only the sheriff can respond to that area.
They’re a lot more prominent in rural areas, where they are the main source of law enforcement. Once you get into the cities it’s usually policed by the local Police department.
I see the difference between Sheriff and Police have been covered thoroughly but let’s answer your other questions.
Not sure where you get some officers are “not a peace officer. Could be just a difference in terms depending on the state. As far as I’m aware every law enforcement officer is a peace officer.
As far as Terry stops and traffic stops. A traffic stop is a stop on a vehicle specifically for a traffic related purpose I.e. speeding, running a stop sign, etc.
A Terry stop is an investigatory stop for the purpose of investigating criminal acts. The word “Terry stop” comes from a U.S. Supreme Court case from 1968: Terry vs. Ohio which is considered case law.
The case state a police officer must have articulable facts to believe a crime has occurred, is occurring, or will occur, also known as reasonable suspicion.
The big issue with Terry stop is the frisking or searching of a person without a warrant which the Supreme Court ruled was ok as long as they could articulate a reason for the search; like the suspect kept reaching for their waist band or pockets after being told not to. This could lead an officer to believe a weapon was present and posed a danger to the officer or others. The officer could then pat down a suspect, specifically searching for a weapon and if one was found they could then seize the weapon.
There are other nuances of the case law that I won’t get into but I encourage you to read the case.
Egos
Example that happened recently
A car speeds through Princeton WV on highway 460 and is lit up by a Princeton police officer. It leaves Princeton and is followed by a Mercer County Deputy Sheriff. A WV state trooper joins the chase and the Princeton police end the pursuit as it is now outside their jurisdiction. They call ahead to Virginia where a Giles County Deputy and a VA State Police officer are waiting at the state line. They call ahead to the town of Rich Creek VA and their police officer waits at the town limits.
In my area the sheriffs department is an instrument of the court- serve warrants, transport prisoners, evictions etc. The county police are responsible for actual law enforcement. In other parts of the state the sheriffs department does it all.
A sheriff is elected while the police are hired.
First thing worth noting: the US doesn’t have a single, nationwide police force. This often confuses askers. We have police at the city, county, and state levels in addition to some federal enforcement agencies like the FBI. Every police department is run differently. As with most things in this country, it is hyper-local and you are most likely to interact with city police.
> Why doesn’t the police just govern everything the sheriff’s office does?
Not every city can afford a police department. There are different types of cities in this country. Some cannot collect taxes which means they cannot provide their own police. In these cases, the services are generally provided by the County Sheriff Department
> Does anyone of them have more authority over the other?
Generally, no. The only thing that is different is what their jurisdiction is; where they are allowed to operate and the laws they can enforce (again – the US is hyper-local and we have different governments and laws at the City, State, and Federal levels). If they exceed their jurisdiction, any actions they take may be thrown out by the courts. Generally various departments are more than willing to grant another department permission or (more often) to work the case together.
> Why do some officers say that they are a “peace officer” and other say they are “not a peace officer”
As far as I’m aware, there is no difference. But again, the US is generally hyper-local so this might be different in places I haven’t lived.
> Does a terry stop exist? and what is the difference between that and a normal traffic stop?
I’ve never heard the term before. Apparently it’s another word for Stop and Frisk? Those are highly controversial and I frankly don’t know enough to speak on them.
A sheriff’s office is a state-constitutionally mandated service to serve the process of the various courts of the state, at least in New York. They also run the county jails and handle court security. Local police and state troopers serve a similar purpose here, as the state troopers are typically the local police in sparsely populated areas. Sheriff’s deputies, local police and state troopers all hold the same law enforcement certification in New York and have jurisdiction statewide. Police and peace officer do not mean the same thing in this state.
If you pay attention in class, your homework would be easier.
It varies by location but typically the sheriff’s office runs the court and jail. They only enforce laws in areas outside of cities. Also, the sheriff is an elected position.
The Sheriff is an elected position (at least in North & South Carolina) and has deputies that have jurisdiction to the entire county; they may also operate the jails/prisons.
The police is a department of a municipality, which are hired to serve only the citizens of that municipality. They are not elected and must answer to the municipality government.
>Why doesn’t the police just govern everything the sheriff’s office does?
As mention above, they are not operate or do that.
>Does anyone of them have more authority over the other?
It depends on the jurisdiction, for the most part the Sheriff has higher authority as they are responsible for the entire county; but if a municipality within the county has their own police force, it is on them to maintain the peace and the Sheriff cannot interfere with that unless asked by the municipality to help.
>Why do some officers say that they are a “peace officer” and other say they are “not a peace officer”
Not sure what that means. For the most part they tend to be called peace officers because they are providing law and order to keep the peace.
>Does a terry stop exist? and what is the difference between that and a normal traffic stop?
Yes, but it requires [reasonable suspicion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reasonable_suspicion). A traffic stop is driving infraction like going to fast or not stopping at a light/sign, you are not detained; a terry stop means the police briefly detain a person related to possible criminal activity.
Police are municipal level law enforcement — city/town level.
Sheriff is county level law enforcement — they police in rural/unincorporated areas with no city police. In urban/suburban areas, their primary role is to run jails that house people after arrest but before trial, as well as handling prisoner transport to/from court and court security.
Police are usually city jurisdictions, with the exception of State Police agencies. Sheriff’s are county jurisdictions. They oversee a wider range of territory and the county jails. Sometimes it varies as well. Different places have different responsibilities.
Their authority starts and ends in their jurisdiction. Generally speaking if a crime occurs within city limits the city police will take responsibility. Not the Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff’s usually take matters that occur outside the city limits or unincorporated areas of the counties as well as incarceration duties, county paperwork like restraining and protection orders, handgun licensing, and serving court orders.
While the Sherrifs have jurisdiction power within cities they will usually leave it up to city police. A deputy can still pull you over and give tickets and arrest you within a city as long as it’s in the county they work for.
The easiest way to describe the difference of a terry stop is the concept of reasonable suspicion. It’s a short step under Probable Cause. An officer can detain someone with reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed, is currently being commited, or may be about to be committed and frisk them to check for weapons or other things that can be potentially dangerous to the officers or community.
Traffic stops are probable cause territory. Ie the officer knows you’re speeding or saw you run a stop sign. That warrants probable cause for a traffic stop. Reasonable suspicion comes into traffic stops with DUIs. If you’re swerving or crossing traffic lines a reasonable person could come to the conclusion that you’re driving drunk so they stop you to find out. There’s nothing definitive there to say you’re drunk but a reasonable person would assume due to your behavior.
I only know the difference between the sheriff and the deputy. One I shot; the other I didn’t.
Hang on, I have a great idea for a song…
Lots of questions, lots of answers, lots of explaining the answers. * Understand that these are general answers. Local jurisdictions and departments may vary. Here we go…
>What is the difference between the sheriff’s office and the police?
How the job is attained, Jurisdiction, and specific duties.
* A Sheriff is an *elected* Law enforcement position. The Chief of Police is an *appointed* law enforcement position.
* A Police Department may be at all levels of local government (Housing department, transit authority ,city/township, county, state, etc). The Sheriff is a county department.
* Their duties can and do sometimes overlap. Sheriffs have some duties exclusive to them. Evictions, prisoner transfer, fugitive recovery, courthouse security, serving court orders and subpoenas. Police handle (more frequently) Investigations, most arrests and most major/violent crimes.
>Why doesn’t the police just govern everything the sheriff’s office does?
1. The Sherriff is a political job in Law enforcement
2. the Sherriff is a county department and Police departments are Local, county,and state
> Why do some officers say that they are a “peace officer” and other say they are “not a peace officer”
Peace Officer is a bit of “softening” language. Much like the “Metropolitan Police Service” in the UK, “Police Force” seems “harsh”
>Does a terry stop exist? and
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> what is the difference between that and a normal traffic stop?
Yes they do. A Terry stop is “a brief, temporary involuntary detention of a person suspected of being involved in criminal activity for the purpose of investigating the potential criminal violation.” It is known alternatively as “stop and frisk”. It allows Law Enforcement investigate a *potential* crime by detaining identifying and investigating an individual or individuals at the *sole discretion* of the Law Enforcement Officer. A Terry stop does not require a crime to have been committed, rather that the officer performing the stop have a “**reasonable and articulable**” suspicion that the individual stopped has, will, or is in the process of committing a crime.
A traffic stop is the detainment of an individual who is commiting(or suspected of) a crime while operating a motor vehicle. Eg Speeding , DUI.
2 guys hanging out in front of a convenience store late at night wearing all black and a ski mask: Terry Stop. Car cruising along the highway at 90MPH: traffic stop.