Banner County Sheriff

Sheriff Duties

The history and duties of the office of Sheriff and how these duties originated:

The Office of Sheriff is the oldest law enforcement office known within the common-law system and it has always been accorded great honor, dignity, and trust. The sheriff had immense power and authority. For the most part, the Office of Sheriff evolved out of necessity. Laws which needed to be enforced for the greater good of society, there would have been no necessity for the Sheriff.

After the Norman conquest of England in 1066, King Alfred the Great divided England into Shires (called "sories") to improve the administration of the country. These Shires were equivalent of today's local councils. A Reeve or overseer was appointed to administer the Shires on behalf of the King. The combination of the words "shire" and "reeve"(shire-reeve) eventually became known as Sheriff.

At this time in history Sheriffs had considerable authority in the administration of law, order and justice of the Shires. Their responsibility included many functions that today would be undertaken by the armed forces. The introduction of permanent militias was not introduced in Europe until the 19th century. Before this, if an army was needed to defend the country from invasion, or a conquering force it was gathered from the general public. Gathering an army was one responsibility of the Sheriffs in England.

Halsbury's Laws of England, one of the earliest written collections of English law, said that the Sheriff was "a conservator of the King's peace." It was the "...duty of the Sheriff to... defend this County against invasion by the King's enemies..." A permanent police service also did not exist in England until the 19th century. As a result, all law enforcement work was part of the general responsibility of the early Sheriffs. The Sheriff had power to "stop unlawful riots and assemblies, to apprehend violators.  "Halsbury's Laws of England states that every person in a County was legally bound to "be ready at the command of the Sheriff and at the cry of the County to arrest a felon." This was called "raising the hue and cry."

Many Kings granted the appointment of Sheriff to the highest bidder. That, with the farthermost authority from the King, forced many Sheriffs to collect taxes by any manner of enforcement needed to ensure results. Then in 1215, many nobleman, ex-Sheriffs and influential citizens drafted and adopted the Magna Charta, the famous English document in which 27 of the 63 clauses deal with the control and authority granted to the Sheriff.

In 1635, the first American Sheriff began his duties when settlements in Virginia were strongly enough established to allow the military regime to be replaced by a civil government. In 1649, in Jamestown, Virginia, the Sheriff was commissioned as the King's representative to enforce the laws keep peace.

There are 3,141 counties and county equivalents in the 50 States and the District of Columbia. They are categorized as follows:

3,007 counties

16 Boroughs in Alaska

11 Census Areas in Alaska (for areas not organized into Boroughs by the State)

64 Parishes in Louisiana

42 Independent Cities (1 in Maryland, 1 in Missouri, 1 in Nevada, and the remainder in Virginia)

1 District   the Federal District or District of Columbia.

All but 12 of these are elected and serve as public officials. They answer directly to the electorate. This in itself is a considerable change from the days when all were appointed and answerable only to those who appointed them.

In Nebraska, the Sheriff is elected to a four year term, with no limit on the number of consecutive terms that he or she may run. The Sheriff's power is granted by a number of specific state statutes and the salary of each office is established by the Board of Commissioners for that particular county. Nebraska has 93 elected Sheriffs. Some are large agencies, like Douglas County (Omaha) - Sheriff and 134 sworn officers, while others such as Banner County (Harrisburg) have only a Sheriff and no deputies.

Helpful Links

Nebraska State Patrol - Concealed carry information, Sex Offender Registry, AMBER Alerts, online criminal history requests, and more.

Nebraska Game & Parks - Game/fish rules and laws

The Nebraska Brand Committee - Brand information and registry

FBI Official Site

Department of Homeland Security - INS Omaha, NE

National Capital Poison Center

https://www.safehome.org/resources/emergency-prep-guide/ The fundamentals of preparing for and surviving an emergency at home.

https://www.chooseenergy.com/emergency-preparedness-elderly/ Electricity Preparedness for the Elderly

https://www.maketheconnection.net/ Help for veterans