American sheriff: why he is not a policeman, what he does and how to become one

  • Mar 04, 2021
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American sheriff: why he is not a policeman, what he does and how to become one
American sheriff: why he is not a policeman, what he does and how to become one

Every compatriot knows very well from American films that there is still a very specific sheriff's position in the United States. Some make a false analogy, comparing them to our district police officers. While there is a grain of truth in this comparison, the sheriff is not a police officer. It's time to figure out what the root difference is and what the brave guys in brimmed hats are doing.

Sheriffs work in each county. | Photo: timesfreepress.com.
Sheriffs work in each county. | Photo: timesfreepress.com.

For the first time, sheriffs appeared not at all in the United States, but in medieval England. There was a reeve in the kingdom, personally appointed by the king of the country. The reeves were supposed to keep order in the counties - "shires", so the full name of the post sounded like "shire-reeve" or "reeve of the county". After the British colonized America, the word from the metropolis naturally migrated to the New World, although the essence of the position designated by it changed.

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The sheriff is chosen by the locals. | Photo: huffpost.com.

The main thing to know about US law enforcement is that there is no single police department in the country. Each more or less large settlement has its own management, independent of others. At the same time, for a long time, no police in the United States existed at all. In fact, until the 19th century, order in settlements was provided by sheriffs - elected people, clothed by local residents with the authority to enforce the rule of law and administer justice. With the advent of a more or less organized police, sheriffs have not disappeared anywhere, although their powers and duties have changed somewhat.

The duties of the sheriff are very different. | Photo: svopi.ru.

It is important to understand that in the modern United States of America, the sheriff is not a police officer. An American sheriff is an official who is elected to office by the residents of his district for a term of 2 to 6 years (depending on the state). After that, the newly elected sheriff must appoint a certain number of assistants, depending on the size of the territory entrusted to him under his control and the number of people living on it. As a result, the sheriff and assistants represent a law enforcement department separate from the police and the FBI, which is responsible for keeping order in the district.

The sheriff has to help the police. | Photo: politico.com.

In order to understand the real difference between police officers and sheriffs, you need to understand a little about the administrative structure of the United States. It is quite complex and confusing. The highest level is federal; only the FBI works on it in the field of law and order. Then there are states, counties and cities. Accordingly, the police can be both district and city. Sheriffs always represent only the county. What is the point of this whole system? In the distribution of powers: the FBI has powers everywhere, the state police are statewide, the police are cities - only in the city, sheriffs have powers in counties that are smaller than states, but more cities. Thus, the sheriffs are a kind of intermediate link between the city police and the state police.

What rights and responsibilities does the sheriff have?

Sheriffs deal with literally everything. | Photo: hplztp.ks.ua.

Initially, American sheriffs who still served the British crown only oversaw the collection of taxes in the colony. However, after the American Revolution, the list of powers, rights and, at the same time, responsibilities of this official began to grow rapidly. Today, sheriffs are essentially helping the police maintain order and government where a lack of government may arise. Primarily in small towns where there are no police departments of their own. There are sheriffs in 48 of the 50 states of America, and their powers and responsibilities vary quite significantly from state to state.

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As a rule, they work where there is no police force. ¦ Photo: imaginenortheastiowa.com.

In most cases, the sheriff's office takes over police duties where there is no department of its own. The sheriff and his assistants keep order on the road, deal with minor and serious offenses, help in the work of the anti-drug department, and can even manage prisons. Of course, sheriffs make arrests. In addition, their responsibilities include the work of a coroner. The sheriff has other responsibilities depending on the state and county.

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The sheriff can be recalled from his post. | Photo: inosmi.ru.

Becoming a sheriff in the United States is not easy. This post is elective. All residents of the district will vote for the sheriff. In this case, the candidate must initially satisfy a sufficiently stringent set of requirements. Many sheriffs initially work as police officers in their city or state. However, this article is not mandatory for the future sheriff. Some of them themselves go to study at the police academy after they have been selected to an authoritative position. But even without this, once a year, all sheriffs must take refresher courses.

Like any other elective position, the sheriff can be recalled from the appointed post if, in the opinion of the local population, he does not cope with his duties. As for wages, the sheriffs and their assistants live well. Sheriffs' salaries range from 70 to 106 thousand dollars a year. That's not bad money for America. Earnings are comparable to the earnings of a strong representative of the middle class. Sheriff's deputies earn between 31 and 68 thousand dollars, thus falling into the lower half of the US middle class.

If you want to know even more interesting things, then you should read about
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A source:
https://novate.ru/blogs/050820/55575/