County Sheriffs: Duties and responsibilities

The County Sheriff is the chief law officer in the county and is responsible for preserving the peace and protecting life and property in the county. The County Sheriff investigates crimes; apprehends persons  charged with criminal activity; serves warrants and processes papers  issued by the District Court and other lawful authorities; handles  reports of various nuisances or dangers to the public; and handles  safety matters. The County Sheriff may also assist the state in handling state prisoners.  

In most counties, the County Sheriff operates the county jail and is  responsible for the custody and control of county prisoners plus  prisoners incarcerated by many cities and towns.

The County Sheriff and Deputy Sheriffs may assist in collecting delinquent taxes for the county.

Within twelve (12) months of taking office, all newly elected or appointed  sheriffs shall complete a sheriff’s administrative school which has been developed by the Oklahoma Sheriff’s Association and which has been approved by the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training  (CLEET). County Sheriffs also receive CLEET accreditation for the classes they take in the County Training Program.

The County Sheriff must also enforce the rights guaranteed to all citizens by the Constitution of the United States.

Next  week is the last installment of Duties and Responsibilities of County  Officials. It will cover assessors. I thank OSU’s County Training  Program for the use of their material over the last few weeks. If you visit their website at http://agecon.okstate.edu/ctp/index.asp you will  find videos and other valuable information that might interest you. For a very good lesson about County Government, I suggest watching a video  from OSU-CTP, which is available at   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdjAt5fVMMQ