Each of the states is broken down into smaller geographic elements known as counties, and each of these maintains a sheriff's department or office. Some counties have one member on their sheriff's department—the sheriff. Others have hundreds of sworn deputies and administrative personnel who serve a large constituency and provide many varied services. Just as is true in the municipal departments, the smaller the agency, the slower and less likely the rise in rank. In larger departments, the possibility of rising in rank is more likely, but there is more competition because of the larger number of personnel. Also, the larger the agency, the larger the number of specialty squads on which to serve.

The Office of Sheriff

Probably the most diverse of all law enforcement agencies is the sheriff's department. The duties vary from state to state, and neighboring counties often serve completely different purposes within a given state. One thing associated with the sheriff that is seldom attributed to local, state, or federal agents is the service and maintenance of civil process. A deputy sheriff serving civil process papers is often met with more resistance than a fleeing felon, and distraught recipients often express their anger in physical ways that can be injurious to the person serving the papers, and crosses the line into criminal conduct.

Additional Sheriff's Responsibilities

Serving divorce decrees and standing by during tenant evictions is just the tip of the iceberg for a sheriff's office. In many states, the sheriff is the highest authority of law, handling both the task of keeping the peace, and enforcing the law. As simple as that may sound, it is no easy task. Ideally, keeping the peace is a matter of making everyone happy. Enforcing the law almost always means that someone won't be happy with the actions of the law enforcement officer (especially those upon whom the law is being enforced), and therefore they are not at peace. But coupling aggressive patrol functions with in-depth investigative efforts is the hallmark of good law enforcement, and a sizable number of sheriff's departments throughout the country shoulder these responsibilities, along with handling the civil process.

The civil process can include making sure property that was seized through due process is auctioned off for the use of the government. It can also include the responsibility of making sure that executions are carried out in states that allow the death penalty. As grim as it may sound, the process of execution is the domain of the executive branch of government, and often the execution of court orders includes the actual execution of prisoners. This job, in many states, falls to the sheriff of the district where the heinous crime was committed, or where the execution is to be conducted. That is not to say that the sheriff himself must throw the switch or pull the lever—it's often contracted out to a professional executioner. But the responsibility of conducting the execution rests in the hands of the sheriff.

Sheriffs are often the ones responsible for the retrieval of wanted persons from other states. This can be a very quick process, or protracted beyond belief—it's all up to the defendant. Once a wanted person is apprehended and detained by another state, in the local courts the defendant is charged as a fugitive from justice and held without bail. If the defendant waives her right to due process and agrees to be taken back to the requesting state voluntarily, the transfer can be resolved usually in a matter of a few days. If the defendant refuses waiver of rights, the process requires that the governor of the requesting state issues a warrant, has it certified, and then delivers it to the governor of the holding state. The governor of the holding state certifies the warrant and verifies that the person being held is the person requested in the warrant. Once this is accomplished, the sheriff can travel to the holding location and retrieve the prisoner. This all presupposes that the issue and certification process is accomplished within a ninety day period, otherwise the ability to hold the defendant expires and she must be released.