BRACKEN COUNTY              SHERIFF'S OFFICE

There are over three thousand counties in the United States today and almost everyone of them has a Sheriff. In the majority of the states, the office of sheriff is established by the constitution. Most of the remaining states were established by an act of state legislature.

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There are two states in which the Sheriff is not elected by the voters. In Rhode Island they are appointed by the Governor and in Hawaii deputy sheriffs serve the Department of Public Safety's Sheriff's Division.

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Law Enforcement:

Most Sheriffs' offices have a responsibility for law enforcement, although the authority of the Sheriff varies from state to state, the Sheriff has the power to make arrests within his or her own county. Some states extend this authority to adjacent counties or the entire state. Many sheriffs' offices perform routine patrol functions such as traffic control, accident investigations, transport of prisoners, criminal investigations and some even have specialized activities.

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Court Duties:

Sheriffs are responsible for maintaining the safety and security of the court, taking charge of juries when outside of the courtroom, serving of court papers such as subpoenas, summons, warrants and civil process and prisoner extradition.

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Jail Administration:

In some states the Sheriff is responsible for the operations of the county jail.

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Tax Collection:

The Sheriff is also responsible for the collection of property taxes which is the same function that they served under the Kings in England.

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