Expert: William Payne - 1/7/2007

Question
I am a reservist ,a  and upon my recent return from deployment decided that i would like to change my civilian career to a law enforcement one. My dilemma is which dept... Currently the Police dept have several openings & the entrance tests are in a few weeks. I  currently passed the  entrance tests for  the Sheriffs Academy, but the  dept has no openings at this time.  I think I may prefer the Sheriff Dept. Well that's my situation,... My actual question  is :  What are the  differences in the  duties of a Police Officer  and that of a Sheriff ? I understand one is  local and the other federal, but that doesn't really describe what the duties entail.

Answer
Ms. Stearnes,

Thanks for the question.

Depending on what jurisdiction you live in, the job descriptions may not differ very much at all.

I live in an area that the positions are essentially the same other than the deputies working at the Sheriff's Office work for an elected official, and the police department works for an individual that is appointed or hired by a City Manager. The deputies work at the pleasure of the Sheriff. Meaning, they can be fired for most anything the Sheriff wants to fire them for. On the other hand, a Municipal police officer most likely has a grievance process they can go through if disciplined.

In some areas of the country, a Sheriff's Deputy is entirely a civil process, i.e. court protection, warrant service, corrections department, and etc.

Most of the time, a Sheriff Deputy will have county-wide jurisdiction and a police officer will have municipal or town limits only jurisdiction. If you have a full-service Sheriff's Office, that agency will perform both criminal and civil functions.

Both Municipal or Sheriff's departments have their positives and negatives.

Good luck in whichever one you decide!