Police vs Sheriff (village, houses, wild, rake)

[hippyman]

I didnt see anything like this posted, so here goes. I live in a town of roughly 12000 people. One thing that has always bothered me about here, over other small towns, is that we have too many police officers. When I think of small town, I think of a sheriffs dept. and thats it. We have 23 cop cars, last I heard; I think thats a few too many. One sheriffs dept. should be able to handle the job, if you ask me. What are ya'lls opinions on this?

[eric#1]

City police and county sheriffs/duputies are different. The county police minimize their involvement with city laws. Without people knowing anything about your town I think their comments will be based on guesses.

In Deadwood SD their are way more city Police per capita than any other town in our state, due to the casinos/live events, alcohol and the traffic that comes with it.

City forces are typically paid for by the city, while the Sheriffs is payed for thru the county. There are only 1300 people here with only a slightly smaller force than yours, but there are also more hotel rooms than people and those are frequently booked full.

I suspect the people out of town like having their own department that isn't distracted with city matters. Which matters would hold a higher priority? Those in town or those out of town? Large unorganized communities can put a large burden on the county forces which is one reason in my area density regulation for the Counties have tightened in recent years.

[ferretkona]

I live in a county of 8000, a town of 4000. Our city police are jack boot nazis. The county Sheriff's are pretty cool. Our city has shut down all bars by arresting all people who leave them at night.
My wife is in a few bands and no one has live music now as there are no patrons to listen to them.

Ironically I live next door to the Sheriff station.

[msd128]

You can never have too many police officers. Not sure of what the crime is like in your town or how many officers you have in the department but the norm is two officers per thousand residents.
The county generally patrols and takes calls for service in the unincorporated parts of the county and municipality departments patrol and take calls in the incorporated areas.

[ognend]

Originally Posted by msd128

You can never have too many police officers. Not sure of what the crime is like in your town or how many officers you have in the department but the norm is two officers per thousand residents.
The county generally patrols and takes calls for service in the unincorporated parts of the county and municipality departments patrol and take calls in the incorporated areas.

No kidding, I don't know how all them folks survived 100-150 years ago without two police officers per thousand residents and the "you can never have too many police officers" mentality

OD

[Jim Mac]

This is the first time I've seen anyone complain about having too many police officers. A lot of people don't like cops until they need one. Then they'll be bitching and moaning that they took to long to respond.

[ognend]

Originally Posted by Jim Mac

This is the first time I've seen anyone complain about having too many police officers. A lot of people don't like cops until they need one. Then they'll be bitching and moaning that they took to long to respond.

Only the people who cannot fend for themselves, you meant to say?
OD

[tigre79]

Alaska doesn't have sheriffs. We have 11 cops and one state trooper who mostly does wildlife law enforcement, in a town of ~4000. I don't like cops much, but that doesn't seem too terribly high, considering that we just about double in size in the summers due to tourists and seasonal workers.

[crazyme4878]

12,000 people does not sound like a small town to me at all. We have 500 people, no police and supposedly two deputies in town. It's harder than hell to get them to show up. So, no, I don't think 23 police officers is too much. Especially since they have to rotate, so it's not like there is always 23 officers just watching you, waiting, waiting to get you!

[Mircea]

Originally Posted by hippyman

I didnt see anything like this posted, so here goes. I live in a town of roughly 12000 people. One thing that has always bothered me about here, over other small towns, is that we have too many police officers. When I think of small town, I think of a sheriffs dept. and thats it. We have 23 cop cars, last I heard; I think thats a few too many. One sheriffs dept. should be able to handle the job, if you ask me. What are ya'lls opinions on this?

My opinion is that you don't understand the structure of law enforcement in the United States.

Unlike the rest of the world, the US is unique in that there are often multiple jurisdictions that often over-lap.

The structure in each State is slightly different.

There is a federal level of law enforcement which encompasses numerous agencies (FBI, DEA, BATF, Secret Service, US Marshals etc etc etc).

A State may or may not have State police. Ohio has BCI (Bureau of Criminal Investigations) and State Troopers. Troopers only have jurisdiction on US Interstates and Routes (eg I-75 and US 50) and on Ohio State Routes (eg Ohio SR128 or SR264). Ohio has no State police per se except for those authorized to carry weapons on State-funded university campuses (eg Miami University or University of Cincinnati) or on the grounds of hospitals which are owned in whole or in part by the State (eg University Hospital). They have no jurisdiction off-campus or off of the grounds of the hospital (except while traveling on a State Route).

The next level of jurisdiction is the County. Ohio has only Sheriff's departments which perform a variety of law enforcement missions. It differs greatly from the Commonwealth of Kentucky where those functions are divided into the County Sheriff and the County Police. In the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the Sheriffs perform only those duties associated with courts, such as providing correctional services in county jails, serving criminal warrants, serving court orders for both criminal and civil cases, transporting prisoners, functioning as bailiffs in court, and providing security at courthouses. The County Police perform strictly law enforcement on the streets. Many States such as Ohio have combined County Police and Sheriffs into one organization for administrative and management purposes. Sheriffs in Ohio have county-wide jurisdiction and often augment local police.

Township police are the next level of jurisdiction. They may or may not exist in your State, and that is especially true of those States (and Commonwealths) that first formed the United States. Miami Township in Hamilton County has Township Police. It is an unincorporated township, but has trustees to manage the affairs of the township. The Hamilton County Sheriff's Department already provided patrol services for the township, but the people wanted additional police protection, and were willing to pay for it through higher property taxes. The trustees merely contract and pay the Sheriff's Department additional monies to provide added police protection.

City, village and municipality is the lowest level of jurisdiction.

You claim 23 cars, but that doesn't necessarily translate into 23 cops on duty at the same time. Even if it were true, one cop per 500+ people is not that bad. Cincinnati has one cop per 150 people.

Most likely, with 23 cars, there are 6 cops on duty per shift, or one cop per 2,000 people, which is not that much.

There are a number of environmental factors that will skew patrol requirements, such as being on the border with Mexico or Canada, having a major interstate run through or near the city/town, and so on.

Check the police blotter reports and go to the county's web-site to check the crime statistics.

Remember, police are under local civilian control. Any time you are so inclined as to perform your civic obligations as a citizen and take charge of your police department and put the brakes on the insanity, all you have to do is vote, and specifically vote for a mayor and city council members that will reign in the police instead of letting them run wild.

Officer friendly...

Mircea