what are the differences between an sheriff, cop, detective and city guard ?
In: Other
in the US, generally
* sheriff is an **elected** county level official who has deputies that work for them
* cop/police officer – works for the police force, generally of a city, and reports to a Chief officer who is hired by the city government
* detective is any police officer who specializes in investigation of specific crimes. As opposed to uniformed patrol officer, who generally spends their day in the car/on foot responding to calls from the public, doing traffic enforcement, etc.
* no idea what you mean by “city guard”, that is not a US term I’m aware of
In the US, the sheriff is an elected official. The sheriff’s office has jurisdiction over the entire county and typically also runs a jail. He/she has deputy sheriffs or deputies as employees with law enforcement powers also for the entire county.
A cop typically refers to a police officer who is employed by a specific city. Police officers have jurisdiction within the city boundaries where they are employed. Police officers work under a police chief, who is hired by city government.
A detective is a police officer or deputy that usually doesn’t answer calls for service (alarms, traffic accidents, 911 calls, fights, shootings, etc) but investigates crimes after the fact. They’ve been trained in crime scenes, evidence collection, interrogation techniques. They write search warrants and affidavits and testify in court more than a regular police officer.
City guard was an antiquated law enforcement-esque group that doubled as military in times of need. Not really around anymore, at least in the US.
[removed]
Latest Answers