What does a sheriff do?
Sheriff responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real sheriff resumes:
- Evaluate all investigative and patrol functions to assure public safety and security needs are met.
- Check visitors for warrants via NCIC and CIB.
- Provide mentor and leadership guidance a to numerous personnel within the sheriffs office.
- Create directed patrol for gang intervention, and enhance community policing.
- Participate in developing and implementing safety policy for firearms range operations.
- Assist in driver education training at local high schools with an emphasis on DUI prevention.
- Serve as first responder for accidents and disasters, applying cardiopulmonary resuscitation and other life-saving procedures as needed.
Sheriff skills and personality traits
We calculated that 31% of Sheriffs are proficient in Patrol, Public Safety, and Emergency Calls. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Empathy, and Good judgment.
We break down the percentage of Sheriffs that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patrol, 31%
Field Training Officer, Search and Rescue Coordinator, Firearms Instructor, Supervisor of Patrol, Head of Investigations.
- Public Safety, 7%
Provide public safety services by observing assigned areas and activities.
- Emergency Calls, 6%
Receive and respond to emergency calls.
- Booking, 5%
Collected moneys at the time of booking and from visitors to be placed into trust fund for inmates use during incarceration.
- Phone Calls, 5%
Respond to and direct incoming phone calls, take messages, answer questions.
- Data Entry, 5%
Experienced in clerical office work using MS Word, Excel and data entry at the Sheriff's Office.
Common skills that a sheriff uses to do their job include "patrol," "public safety," and "emergency calls." You can find details on the most important sheriff responsibilities below.
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a sheriff to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what sheriffs do because "police and detectives must be able to speak with people and to express details in writing about an incident." Additionally, a sheriff resume shows how sheriffs use communication skills: "experience working in california law enforcement telecommunications system and the criminal justice information system"
Empathy. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling sheriff duties is empathy. The role rewards competence in this skill because "police officers need to understand the perspectives of a variety of people in their jurisdiction and be willing to help the public." According to a sheriff resume, here's how sheriffs can utilize empathy in their job responsibilities: "developed broad understanding of the law and public safety. "
Good judgment. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of sheriffs is good judgment. This skill is critical to many everyday sheriff duties, as "police and detectives must be able to determine the best way to solve an array of problems." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "worked under stress and exercised sound judgment in emergency situations. "
Leadership skills. For certain sheriff responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "leadership skills." The day-to-day duties of a sheriff rely on this skill, as "police officers must be comfortable with being a highly visible member of their community, as the public looks to them for help in emergencies." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what sheriffs do: "provided leadership, training, and planning for a patrol force charged with ensuring public safety and enforcing laws. "
Physical strength. A commonly-found skill in sheriff job descriptions, "physical strength" is essential to what sheriffs do. Sheriff responsibilities rely on this skill because "police officers must be strong enough to physically apprehend suspects and to assist people in precarious situations." You can also see how sheriff duties rely on physical strength in this resume example: "investigated crimes, interviews witnesses, complainants, and victims; and collected physical evidence and preserved it for court. "
The three companies that hire the most sheriffs are:
- County of Nevada, CA2 sheriffs jobs
- County of Contra Costa2 sheriffs jobs
- City of El Dorado2 sheriffs jobs
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Compare different sheriffs
Sheriff vs. Lieutenant/deputy
The duties of a deputy vary on their line of work or place of employment. In law enforcement, a deputy is primarily in charge of conducting investigations on crimes and arresting criminals, performing regular patrols on streets, responding to calls of distress, and assisting citizens in calamities, disasters, accidents, or any forms of threat. There are also instances when a deputy must serve court documents, transport detainees or suspected criminals, and monitor courtrooms. Furthermore, a deputy reports to higher-ranking officers such as a sheriff.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, sheriff responsibilities require skills like "public safety," "emergency calls," "booking," and "phone calls." Meanwhile a typical lieutenant/deputy has skills in areas such as "r," "direct supervision," "performance evaluations," and "aid training." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Lieutenant/deputies tend to reach similar levels of education than sheriffs. In fact, lieutenant/deputies are 1.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.8% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Sheriff vs. Deputy k9
Each career also uses different skills, according to real sheriff resumes. While sheriff responsibilities can utilize skills like "emergency calls," "booking," "phone calls," and "data entry," deputy k9s use skills like "crime scenes," "law enforcement," "compile evidence," and "training logs."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Deputy k9s tend to reach higher levels of education than sheriffs. In fact, they're 5.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Sheriff vs. Deputy
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a sheriff is likely to be skilled in "booking," "phone calls," "data entry," and "criminal justice," while a typical deputy is skilled in "transport inmates," "motor vehicle," "human resources," and "firearms."
Deputies earn the best pay in the manufacturing industry, where they command an average salary of $53,877. Sheriffs earn the highest pay from the government industry, with an average salary of $47,109.Most deputies achieve a higher degree level compared to sheriffs. For example, they're 5.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 2.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Sheriff vs. Deputy treasurer
Even though a few skill sets overlap between sheriffs and deputy treasurers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a sheriff might have more use for skills like "patrol," "public safety," "emergency calls," and "booking." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of deputy treasurers require skills like "customer service," "process payroll," "property tax payments," and "financial statements. "
The average resume of deputy treasurers showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to sheriffs. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 2.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.3%.Types of sheriff
Updated January 8, 2025
