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The vast majority of counties in the United States have a sheriff’s department; in 2016, there were 3,012 in the nation.²⁶ Only four states (Alaska, Connecticut, Hawaii, and Rhode Island) and Washington, D.C., do not have sheriff’s departments. Sheriff’s departments employ about 173,000 full-time sworn officers and 186,000 civilians.²⁷ Compared to local and state law enforcement agencies, sheriff’s departments have a large representation of civilian personnel; many of these agencies employ substantially more civilians than sworn officers.

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Figure 3.6 The Five Largest Police Departments in the United States

Source: Uniform Crime Report, 2017 (Washington, D.C.: Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2018).

Approximately 25% (757) of sheriff’s departments employ less than ten officers.²⁸ These 757 departments combined account for less than 2% of all sworn officers who work in sheriff’s departments. Twelve percent (364) of sheriff’s departments employ 100 or more full-time sworn officers; these agencies account for approximately 65% of all sworn officers who work in sheriff’s departments.²⁹ So, similar to local police departments, while a sizable share of county sheriff’s departments are quite small, most sworn officers work in larger agencies (Figure 3.7).

As with local police departments, larger sheriff’s departments are more likely to exhibit greater diversity in terms of officer gender and race. Overall, 14% of sworn officers in sheriff’s departments are female, and 22% are racial minorities.³⁰

Sheriff’s departments have several responsibilities. First, with a few exceptions, these agencies are responsible for law enforcement in the county, on county land (e.g., parks, county roads, and highways), and in towns and villages that do not have their own police department. Second, about 75% of all sheriff’s departments are responsible for operating at least one county jail. Third, they may have responsibility for providing court security, transporting prisoners to and from jail and court, and serving processes (e.g., restraining orders, court summons, eviction notices). The allocation of officers and other resources to the various functions of the sheriff’s departments depends much on the characteristics of the county. Compared to urban counties, sheriff’s departments of more rural counties may allocate a larger portion of resources to law enforcement responsibilities because rural counties are likely to have fewer local police departments to provide services. On the other hand, sheriff’s departments in more urban counties generally allocate more resources to jail operations, if they are responsible for a jail. For example, in the Cook County Sheriff’s Department (which includes the city of Chicago and the greater Chicago area), only 4% of deputies are assigned to respond to calls for service.³¹

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Figure 3.7 The Five Largest County Sheriff’s Departments

Source: Uniform Crime Report, 2017 (Washington, D.C.: Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2018).