Sheriff, in the United States, is one of the chief administrative officers of a county. A sheriff’s duties include maintaining order in county areas not controlled by city police, making arrests and taking charge of prisoners, and summoning and overseeing juries. A sheriff also carries out the judgments of the county court. For example, if the court gives a judgment against a debtor, the sheriff seizes that person’s property and sells it to satisfy the claims of creditors. Sheriffs may perform these duties themselves, or they may give other persons the power to act in their name. These people are called deputy sheriffs. In most states, the voters elect the sheriff. In Canada, sheriffs are appointed.
The word sheriff comes from old England. Each shire, or county, had a chief official known as a reeve. The title shire reeve gradually came to be run together in the single word sheriff.
