Talk:Sheriff
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Fatality handling, coroner, SAR
At least in California, USA, the Sheriff has the responsibility to recover any deceased persons within their county. That is why often the full title is Deputy Sheriff Coroner, and that is one of the main reasons Search & Rescue teams fall under the Sheriff’s department instead of Fire/Rescue branch or local Police Departments. If there is a deceased person, legally (not minding and local agreements between agencies) the Sheriff has sole duty to recover the body. Does anyone know more about this, especially for other states in the USA? To me it is one of the crucial differences between Sheriff & Police departments, as well as the reasoning behind "Sheriff Rescue" squads. (Unsigned)
- I think the "Search and Rescue squad" evolved from, and is more likely a modern term for, the "posse" of old who would have been called out just as often if not more so to look for lost people, as to track down a rampant fugitive. As to unifying the offices of Sheriff and Coroner, this is mostly an organizational option; while that is the arrangement in Orange County I think the two offices are still separate agencies in Los Angeles County, and moving a body from a crime scene in San Francisco could (I am not sure) be a function of Public Health. - knoodelhed 08:20, 23 Sep 2004 (UTC)
Law enforcement function in US
I think the concept of the sheriff as the county's principal police authority might have more accurately evolved from the Anglo-Welsh High Sheriff, as that is clearly an executive function while the Scottish sheriff is a judiciary role. - knoodelhed 08:20, 23 Sep 2004 (UTC)