Why are Sheriff's 'elected' and Police Chiefs are 'appointed'?
2006-10-04 04:44:14 · 16 answers · asked by lalanmeyer 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
I don't know but in Webster County, MO, it has alot of people p!ssed ooff. Our sheriff was removed by the AGs office, re-elected and later we found out that he doesn't have a state license, the police chief ran against him in the election and would have won if the public had known the sheriff didn't have the license needed to write tickets and make arrests, in other words the election was crooked, as far as I'm concerned sheriffs position should be appointed or hired, not elected, because, when securing votes is more important than protecting the public, he's not a law enforcement officer, he's a politician, and it needs changed, the police chief was dismissed no one told us why, and the public had no say in that matter but we could re-elect a sheriff who didn't give us all the facts...
Worsham: 'Business as usual'
Being without a state license hasn't changed procedures, the Webster County sheriff says.
Ryan Slight
News-Leader
If a standoff occurred in Webster County, Sheriff Ron Worsham said he would be there directing law enforcement.
The sheriff said Thursday he did not change department procedures in response to the state denying him a peace officer license.
He is the only Missouri sheriff without a license, which allows one to perform law enforcement duties such as making arrests or carrying a firearm as an officer. He may serve as an administrative sheriff without one.
"It really doesn't have much impact on our operation. We're continuing to do business as usual," Worsham said.
The sheriff declined to detail what he couldn't do without a license, referring comment to his Springfield attorney, Richard Crites. Efforts to contact Crites on Thursday were unsuccessful.
The Missouri Administrative Commission last week upheld the Department of Public Safety's decision to deny Worsham an officer license. Worsham had appealed the decision last year.
During his prior term, the Attorney General's Office accused Worsham of commissioning a deputy who was not certified and allowing supervised prisoner releases without court order.
Circuit Judge William R. Hass ordered Worsham removed from office in October 2004 after finding him guilty of "knowing and willful neglect and failure to perform the official duties" of sheriff. Worsham was re-elected a month later.
The sheriff said he would continue to seek a license in court. He has an administrative hearing in the next month.
His lack of a license does not affect the commissioning of his officers, Worsham said. The sheriff has 13 officers with licenses, he said.
The sheriff said he did not inform the public that he had no license, adding that the news media had made it known.
Rogersville Police Chief Leland McMasters said he had not been notified that Worsham had no license.
However, it had no effect on his police officers because they usually interact with deputies, McMasters said.
An administrative sheriff would be limited by not being able to act as a certified officer, Greene County Sheriff Jack Merritt said.
"You would be, to my thinking, a figurehead in the office," he said.
Mick Covington, Missouri Sheriffs' Association executive director, said certification had not been an issue in past decades before state licensing was required.
Seymour resident Marquita Shaffer said she was upset to have a sheriff without a license. She claimed her brother had been arrested by a former Worsham deputy who lacked certification.
Shaffer questioned whether Worsham would have been re-elected if voters knew he lacked a license.
"When I talk to people in bigger cities, they don't believe it. They say, 'You can't be a sheriff if you can't arrest people. What's the point?'" Shaffer said.
"The people here laugh at it. It's like we're the biggest joke in the state."
2006-10-04 05:02:21 · answer #1 · answered by marquita 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sheriff is elected and in states like Arizona and Georgia, the Sheriff is supreme to a city police chief and can even shut down a city police force, which has been done in Guadalupe Arizona and another Arizona town.
Don't believe people when they say the sheriff is always a county officer. Some cities like New York City have a Sheriff's dept.
2015-09-15 07:28:31 · answer #2 · answered by Steve 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Police Chiefs usually serve at the convenience of the city manager or mayor. Sheriff's are always an elected official. Sheffie's in California are the chief law enforcement officers of their given counties which is why they are elected. They can be removed by simple impeachment or by not getting re-elected. If the Chief doesn't do their job, then citizens can petition the city council for the city manager/mayor to remove them.
Both are very political jobs.
2006-10-04 05:17:05 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Sheriff is usually a county position that is elected by popular vote. A Chief of police is usually a city position appointed by the Mayor and City Council.
2016-03-27 04:36:36 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
For one thing, a Sheriff gets to wear a much cooler looking hat than a Police Chief.
2006-10-04 05:09:57 · answer #5 · answered by tysavage2001 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sheriff is county and Police Chief is town
2006-10-04 04:48:46 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sheriff's using reside in rural communities and have a few deputies working for them. Police chiefs handle larger organizations as part of the local government. Wheither either is elected or appointed is by local law, not by title.
2006-10-04 04:46:52 · answer #7 · answered by Arnold M 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Q. What is the difference between a Sheriff and a Police Chief?
A. their waist line !!!
2006-10-04 05:59:40 · answer #8 · answered by BEAVIS 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
a sheriff is a political position and is elected by the people, a chief of police is appointed by the mayor !
2006-10-04 04:54:29 · answer #9 · answered by grim_reaper_69 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A Police Chief could be the Captain of the police force.
2006-10-04 04:46:36 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋