What does a Florida county sheriff's office do, and how is it different from city police?

Section 30.15 of the Florida Statutes lists the sheriff's duties. The sheriff's office carries out the papers, writs and warrants of the state's courts, attends every session of the circuit court and county court held in the county, and serves as the county's conservator of the peace, with the power to break up riots and unlawful assemblies.

The main difference from city police is who they answer to and where they work. A city police chief is typically appointed or hired by city officials, while the sheriff answers to the voters of the whole county. A city may run its own police department or contract for police service. In the unincorporated parts of a county, the areas that are not inside any city, the sheriff's office is the police, and state law says a county commission may not keep or set up a police department of its own to police those areas. The sheriff's powers also reach inside cities, where they are shared with the city's police.

Miami-Dade County was the exception for many years, because its county charter gave the sheriff's duties to the mayor. Amendment 10, approved by Florida voters in 2018, required an elected sheriff there by January 7, 2025. On that date an elected sheriff took office, and the county police department became the sheriff's office.

The Florida Sheriffs Association is the organization of the state's sheriffs and has worked on their behalf since 1893. Its website, flsheriffs.org, has a directory of the sheriff in every county. It is at 2617 Mahan Drive in Tallahassee, and its phone number is (800) 877-2168.

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