Expert: Chris Wagoner - 2/13/2008

Question
Hey Mr. Wagoner,

   I'm a writer and hope you can assist me with a problem I'm having.  I've
made up this fictionalized county in the Central Rocky Mountains.  It's the
Rockies, so for my purposes, the county encumbers forest and mountainous
terrain.  There is a relatively sparse population, 5,000.  The most dense
population being a ski village that is the home of several upscale ski resorts
and a main street, pop.  2,500.  The "village" is quaint and appeals to the
very rich, sort of the way Telluride or Aspen was in the '60's or '70's.  This
county is in Wyoming.  
Okay, that's the setup.  My dilemma?  I want my top cop to have the power
and autonomy (jurisdiction) to work throughout the county, i.e., murder or
manhunt types of situation.  If I make my top cop the chief of police of the
ski village, that would limit his authority to the city limits, right?  If I make
him the county sheriff, he would not handle a murder investigation, right?  
In a High Sierra county where most folks know each other, would it be
outside the realm of reality for a Sheriff to have enough clout to handle
investigations?
   I realize it's my world and I can do anything I want, however, I lose all
credibility if the person reading is a cop and knows I'm in fantasy land.  I
was thinking, IF the ski village was so small, that it did not have a police
department, say the population was under two thousand year-around
residence, wouldn't the Sheriff's Department handle the investigations
throughout the county?  Maybe have their office in the village?  I don't want
to have the layers of bureaucracy that a big city government has.  I don't
want an old fashioned Mayberry RFD feel, yet, I DO like the simplicity that
might be afforded a law enforcement entity in such a remote location.  
Could that place still exist in this time?

I know this is WAY outside the box from most questions you get, but your
profile narrative made me feel that you were open to all questions.  I hope
to hear from you soon.  

Best Regards,

JD
Dallas, GA.

Answer
Hi JD,

You are writing an interesting story there. And I do not mind answering these kinds of questions at all. I am a writer myself (serial killer type stuff) so I love helping out other writers! No question is every too small or long, and you can never ask to many!

You can make him the Sheriff of the County and yes they do investigate murders. The Sheriff in a county (in most states) is the top law enforcement officer in the county. They can go into any city or area inside the county and have jurisdiction.

Here are your questions:
If I make my top cop the chief of police of the ski village, that would limit his authority to the city limits, right? Correct.

If I make him the county sheriff, he would not handle a murder investigation, right?  No he very well could as I said before.

In a High Sierra county where most folks know each other, would it be
outside the realm of reality for a Sheriff to have enough clout to handle investigations? Not at all, as said above.

I realize it's my world and I can do anything I want, however, I lose all credibility if the person reading is a cop and knows I'm in fantasy land.  I was thinking, IF the ski village was so small, that it did not have a police department, say the population was under two thousand year-around residence, wouldn't the Sheriff's Department handle the investigations throughout the county?  Yes.

Maybe have their office in the village? Actually more than likely they would.

I don't want to have the layers of bureaucracy that a big city government has.  I don't want an old fashioned Mayberry RFD feel, yet, I DO like the simplicity that might be afforded a law enforcement entity in such a remote location.  
Could that place still exist in this time? The average size of a police or sheriff's office nationawide is 24 officers. :)

Yes it can, and I hope this helps.