eli5 What’s the difference between a police officer and a sheriff?
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In the United States you have many different states. 50 of them. These states are pretty big, so they divide themselves up into counties. But these counties are not equally populated everywhere. Areas near a freshwater supply, on flatter or more arable ground, or near the coast might be more densely populated than other areas. Very densely populated areas in a county (or sometimes in multiple counties) are called cities.
City Police Officers have jurisdiction within a city. Their powers are limited to the confines of the city they are in. Why do they exist? Because cities have a lot of people, so they are hot-zones for crime. The NYPD is an example of a city police department.
Sheriffs are an elected position. They have jurisdiction anywhere in the county, and are the head of the Sheriff’s department. Why do they exist? Because outside of cities, crimes are still committed. If you live on a rural farm in Queens County, you still need law enforcement. And that law enforcement is the Sheriff’s department. The Sheriff’s Department can exercise their power within a city that is in their county, but they do not generally do so because cities are already patrolled by their own respective departments.
State Police, like Troopers and the SBI, have jurisdiction anywhere in the state. Why do they exist? Because sometimes, crimes or legal proceedings can happen outside of cities and outside of a specific county, like on bridges that connect different counties together or on interstate highways.
Federal Officers, like the FBI and the U.S. Marshals service have jurisdiction anywhere in the entire country. Why do they exist? Because of complex crimes and legal proceedings that span multiple states and offenses to federal law.
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