Looking forward to working with a Santa Clara Deputy Sheriff!

          In California, Sheriffs are elected officials in a county. A county’s sheriff’s department polices areas of the given county which do not lie in the jurisdiction of the police department—also known as an “unincorporated area”. However, a sheriff does have full police powers outside their counties, regardless of boundaries. It really does differ however, on the county. I was doing some research on other Sheriff Departments and I found that the City and County of San Francisco stands out. Because San Francisco is “consolidated and coterminous”, the San Francisco Police Department provides general police service for the city while the Sheriff’s department is only in charge of judicial duties, jail staffing and security staffing for facilities of the city. Despite their sworn judicial duties, San Francisco Sheriff Deputies are still sworn peace officers and can back up police whenever necessary. 

          As I mentioned before, their full police powers are still intact! I hope to find more about Santa Clara's Sheriff rules and regulations compared with the Police Department once I start working with them.