What is the difference between the Sheriffs Department, Police, and State Troopers in the United States?

Question

Being English I'm not sure of the difference between the two! Also Are State Troopers part of local Police or State/National Police?

Answer 1

State troopers/police are pretty much what they sounds like -- they are law enforcement officers (LEOs) commissioned by the state. Traditionally, their role is to police highways, and to perform investigations that would be beyond the scope of local police departments.

Police departments are at the city level. They perform all levels of law enforcement -- traffic, investigation, disputes, the whole shebang. For most people, if they call emergency to get police there, it will be city police who respond.

It's important to note, however, that since not everyone lives inside a city, not everyone has a police department to protect them.

Sheriff is at the county or parish level. The sheriff's office maintains the county jail. They also are the primary law enforcement officers for people in their county who are not inside a city, and therefore are not under the protection of a police department.

There are some federal law enforcement agencies. Most are of an investigative nature -- FBI, ATF, Secret Service -- and others perform basic police functions on federal land, like the Park Service. But the theory behind law enforcement in the US is to have control of the law enforcement at tle lowest governmental level practical.

One key difference Sheriffs have from all the others is that it's an elected position. While police chief or head of state police would be hired or appointed by other elected officials, a county sheriff is voted on directly by the residents of that county.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

All are peace officers. The differences will depend on the State and laws associated with the titles.

In Ohio:

State Troopers are State public safety officers. They patrol main roadways and only have jurisdiction on public roadways and State Property. In some States the State Troopers/State Police have a higher authority, but not in Ohio

Police Officers are hired and work for municipalities. They have jurisdiction within that city or village, etc.

Sheriff's (or their Deputies) are the oldest level of local law enforcement dating back to the middle ages. The word Sheriff comes from the words Shire Reeve. Sheriff's have the highest authority within their County over city and State Officials.

All drive cruisers and wear badges and guns though.

Answer 4

A police officer is working for the town or city. A sheriff is usually an elected position, elected by the voters in the district he is in, and a State trooper works for the state. All law enforcement officers may assist the others, but they may not have jurisdiction for arrests. They may be able to detain suspected felons until the proper law enforcement official arrives. I believe they have much the same training at first and then special training required by the organization. Duties may be varied enough to include every phase of law enforcement. Too much to list here. You should read job postings for law enforcement to get an idea about what the requirements are. Look on line for police academys, state police academys, etc...

Answer 5

The Sheriff's Office takes care of the counties. That is the area that is not under a city or town. The State Troopers takes care of the State Highways(mostly). And the Police watches over the cities and towns. They also patrol any highways going through their jurisdiction.

Answer 6

Sheriff dpt covers the county - police covers inside the city limits. Troopers cover the highways.

They are not part of each other - but they will work in tandem.

By the way - the police working the city/town is inside the county. However the police only work within the city limits. The Sheriff dept works the county - but outside the city limits.

But again, sometimes they work in tandem....

Answer 7

Sheriff deputies are the same as the police. It's just a matter of name. The State police help cover rural areas, the interstate highway system. In my state they also investigate all unusual deaths including car accidents as the state has the labs and testing facility's for that.

Answer 8

Different Jurisdictions.
In Seattle we have the Seattle Police.
Seattle is in King County, Wa.
Outside Seattle other towns have their own Police Departments.(Des Moines, Federal Way)
Unincorporated King County is covered by the King County Police.
State Police......jurisdiction... interstates...

Answer 9

Municipal police work for municipalities such as towns or cities, county police and deputy sheriffs work for counties, state police work for states, and federal police work for the federal government. Some have the same duties as one another or very similar duties, and some have different or additional duties. Their jurisdiction is sometimes the main difference. For example, a municipal police officer normally has primary jurisdiction only in the town he or she works for, and a county police officer normally has primary jurisdiction only in the county he or she works for.

Answer 10

In NY, NY State Police over rides all accept US Marshall's and Feds. So, here, there is no difference. The Sheriff and the City police are the grunts. Or so, it seems.