Difference Between Police Officers And Sheriffs

1741 Words4 Pages

Sheriff 's share the same responsibilities as police officers, but have a much larger jurisdiction than just a town or city. Misconceptions are views or opinions that are based on misunderstandings or false thinking. While stereotypes are images or ideas that are fixed on a certain person or thing. There are many misconceptions due to unhealthy attitudes and unrealistic thinking. Also, the large amount of stereotypes are mainly due to the manipulation of mass media. Yet, when it comes to stereotypes and misconceptions peace officers and individuals with law enforcement experience a large deal of them. In the law enforcement field, city police officers and sheriffs are closely watched and examined for any actions or comments that are based …show more content…

Along with police officers, sheriffs face some of the same in the aspects of treating individuals fairly and handling situations properly. Sheriffs are unique when it comes to the jurisdictions and the responsibilities faced. In some way, sheriffs are simply police officers for the entire county. Sheriffs also correspond with police officers in certain areas and situations occurring in the county or a close by city. A difference from the city police is that the sheriffs have special units such as a dive and a search & rescue team. In addition to differences, head sheriffs are elected while most police chiefs of a city or town are appointed, with some exceptions. Stereotypes of sheriffs usually range, “overweight” or even “cowboy like”. Along with those, sheriffs share the same stereotypes as police officers. Such as individuals who do nothing but consume doughnuts and coffee while sleeping on the job. For certain law enforcement departments to have highly trained and skilled units, these stereotypes have to be exaggerated. Also such responsibilities of a sheriff provide little to no time to sit hours on end to sleep and consume food. A sheriff has a responsibility to patrol the vast area that a county covers. Including that fact, sheriffs also maintain the county prison as well as venture to cities in the county to assist local authorities with cases and …show more content…

A major reason and mostly a popular stereotype, is the belief the officers are out to get people, or better understood as picking on an individual. Also these individuals have emotions and thoughts too, unlike the robot some think that those individuals are. Sheriffs are a multi-purpose and multi-use law enforcement group that is provided by the county that one lives in. In addition to that, a sheriff has an entire county to patrol and protect. The response time to an insistent also plays a major role, since there are usually only sheriffs out in the country around cities. While including being a multi-purpose group, sheriff 's often work with other agencies depending on the call and the criteria of the case that is on hand. Examples of sheriffs working with neighboring agencies can be seen in the local Madera Sheriff 's S.W.A.T team. Where there is a full 20 member, but 10 members are Madera deputies, 8 are Madera police officers, and 2 are police officers from the neighboring city of Chowchilla. Including that they work with neighboring agencies, they provide mutual aid for Merced county, natural disasters and prison escapes. As well as providing assistance, the sheriffs also attend schools around the county for demonstrations and possible career information. Plus, the sheriff 's department is the only agency to have a Dive team, as well as a Search & Rescue team. Adding on

Open Document