Editing Sheriff (section)

===United States===
{{Main|Sheriffs in the United States}}

The sheriff is most often an elected county official who serves as the chief civilian [[Law enforcement officer#United States|law enforcement officer]] of their jurisdiction.<ref name="SD" /><ref name="FAQ" /> The sheriff enforces court orders and mandates and may perform duties such as [[evictions]], seizing property and assets pursuant to court orders, and serving [[warrant (law)|warrants]] and [[service of process|legal papers]]. In some counties where urban areas have their own [[police department]]s, a sheriff may be restricted to [[Civil procedure in the United States|civil procedure]] enforcement duties, while in other counties, the sheriff may serve as the principal [[police]] force and have jurisdiction over all of the county's [[Municipality|municipalities]], including those that maintain their own [[municipal police]] departments.<ref name="FAQ">{{cite web |title=FAQ |url=https://www.sheriffs.org/about-nsa/faq |website=[[National Sheriffs' Association]] |access-date=20 January 2024}}</ref> A sheriff often administers the county jails and is responsible for court security functions within their jurisdiction.<ref name="SD">{{cite web |title=Sheriff's Duties |url=https://clermontsheriff.org/sheriffs-duties/ |website=[[Clermont County, Ohio]] |access-date=20 January 2024}}</ref> The office of sheriff as county official in [[Thirteen Colonies|colonial North America]] is recorded from the 1640s.<ref name="History">{{cite web |title=England & United States History |url=https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/sheriff/information/England-United-States-history.html#:~:text=The%20modern%20word%20%E2%80%9CSheriff%E2%80%9D%2C,and%20enforcing%20the%20Kings%20Orders. |website=[[Montgomery County Sheriff's Office (Maryland)]] |access-date=20 January 2024}}</ref>
In the modern United States, the scope of a sheriff varies across [[U.S. state|states]] and [[County (United States)|counties]] (which in [[Louisiana]] are called "parishes" and in [[Alaska]] "boroughs").