Sheriff's in Canada (Province of Manitoba)

[Robb Mavins]

Robb, your right about the Sheriff's and 4 stars in smaller US forces, where i live in Suffolk County, NY there are 350 sheriff's deputies and about 700 corrections officers and the sheriff wears 5 gold stars. Doesn’t Canada have sheriff's too?

Hi Chris:

I thought that I would start a new thread on this topic in my reply to your post under RCMP corrections.

We do have Sheriffs in Canada, but they are more in line with the British system than the US. They are not police officers but court officers. They are similar to US court bailiffs. (In Canada bailiffs are different; they carry out court actions such as seizing property by legal writ)

Sheriffs serve subpoenas to witnesses who are to appear in criminal cases, summon and assemble jury panels, maintain security and order in courts, and escort prisoners. Senior Sheriff’s also act as Bailiff’s for the Crown (which means they can seize property.)

The Basic hierarchy in the Province of Manitoba, Canada is:

Chief Sheriff
Sheriff 3
Sheriff 2
Sheriff 1
Sheriff’s Officer 4
Sheriff’s Officer 3
Sheriff’s Officer 2
Sheriff’s Officer 1

[Manta]

Now, if they had a special wig for the courtroom, that would be impressive.

[ChrisWI]

Basically they have the same functions as a US Sheriff minus the police work. Some US Sheriff Depts. can only do civil enforcement and courthouse security.

[Robb Mavins]

Hi Chris

I was unaware of that, I knew that in some US jurisdictions the Sheriff was responsible for prisoners but thought all were police enforcement officers and I was unaware of the court officer duties.

The only thing I will never understand is the concept of voting for some Sheriffs in the US.

In Canada any kind of elected law enforcement is totally unknown, all law officers even Attorney's General or Solicitor's General are appointed, albeit sometimes from elected officials but always appointed by the Prime Minister /Governor General (Federal) or Premier/ Lieutenant Governor (Provincial).

As another example we never elected "volunteer officers" in our military either. All of our volunteer regiments were were always made Militia (reserve) Regiments and then officers appointed.

Thanks

[Robb Mavins]

Now, if they had a special wig for the courtroom, that would be impressive.

Now, now, don;t make fun of the wigs & robes, I spent a year articling and.... hmmm.... yeah sorry make fun of the wigs

[ChrisWI]

Hi Chris

I was unaware of that, I knew that in some US jurisdictions the Sheriff was responsible for prisoners but thought all were police enforcement officers and I was unaware of the court officer duties.

The only thing I will never understand is the concept of voting for some Sheriffs in the US.

In Canada any kind of elected law enforcement is totally unknown, all law officers even Attorney's General or Solicitor's General are appointed, albeit sometimes from elected officials but always appointed by the Prime Minister /Governor General (Federal) or Premier/ Lieutenant Governor (Provincial).

As another example we never elected "volunteer officers" in our military either. All of our volunteer regiments were were always made Militia (reserve) Regiments and then officers appointed.

Thanks

It baffles me as well, of the 33,000 Sheriff's in the US (yes, there are 33,000 County and City Sheriff's Depts. in the US), all but 12 are elected.

[Robb Mavins]

It baffles me as well, of the 33,000 Sheriff's in the US (yes, there are 33,000 County and City Sheriff's Depts. in the US), all but 12 are elected.

Wow - No idea there were that many elected Sheriffs in the USA. I know that in most cases (please correct me if wrong) a Sheriff is elected or appointed for a County. In general are the "appointed" Sheriffs in larger jurisdictions?
Thanks

[ChrisWI]

i have no clue

[ChrisWI]

Do you know the rank insignia for the Canadian sheriff's, or of a website where i can get more info? Also, arent sheriff's in Canada on a province level rather then county?

[fortsmithman]

The Province of Alberta does have sheriff's they do traffic enforcement, VIP protection, court security, prisoner transport, and a few other things.