Difference Between Sheriff and police

Caya, Chris. “New Police Cars Equipped to Handle Snow.” WBFO, news.wbfo.org/post/new-police-cars-equipped-handle-snow.

Police patrol officers are professionals who handle a variety of tasks, including the pursuit and arrest of perpetrators, emergency and traffic accident response, and the general enforcement of motor vehicle and criminal laws.

The biggest difference between a police officer and a sheriff’s deputy is their jurisdictional authority. Police jurisdiction is patrol boundary's, this boundary might be a city, a town or a county. Police officers patrol the area in their jurisdiction, though they can also act outside their jurisdiction in the right circumstances like a police pursuit.

“Boone County Sheriff's Department - Home.” Www.showmeboone.com, www.boonecountymo.org/sheriff/.

Sheriff’s deputies investigate illegal or suspicious activity, patrol roads to detect law violators, take control of collision scenes, and assist collision victims. The role is very similar to that of a police patrol officer, only with county wide or state wide jurisdiction.

For example, you might find sheriff’s deputies more often on highways or dispersed widely throughout a county, where as police patrol officers will usually patrol a smaller municipality. Sheriffs’ departments tend to be relatively small despite their wider jurisdiction range.

There is jurisdictional overlap between local police departments, sheriff’s offices, state highway patrols and park or forest rangers. This state wide cooperation is particularly useful for townships, villages, parishes and towns that have no police force.  

Flavin, Brianna. “Rasmussen College.” Rasmussen College - Regionally Accredited College Online and on Campus, www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/justice-studies/blog/police-officer-vs-sheriff-vs-corrections-entry-level-jobs/.