WHY FOCUS ON SHERIFFS?

THE PROBLEM

We believe in a future where ALL people are safe—safe from violence, safe from incarceration, safe from discrimination and safe from want. Nearly four centuries after the first sheriff was hired to hunt down escaped enslaved people, sheriffs stand as one of the most powerful and proactive obstacles to reaching this future. 

IT’S THIS WAY BECAUSE…

America’s 3,000+ sheriffs are often most accountable to the wealthy individuals, special interest groups, ideological extremists and jail contractors who donate to their re-election campaigns.

As a result, they prioritize criminalization and mass incarceration as means of exerting control and keeping society’s failings out of sight.

Sheriffs arrest people experiencing homelessness rather than connecting them with services.

They jail people awaiting trial who can’t afford their bail while the wealthy bond out and go home.

They harass and beat and shoot Black and brown people because they see a threat in the kettle they are holding, the mental health crisis they are experiencing or simply to assert dominance.

Sheriffs exist within this system of oppression and dominance and are also designers of it.

They dictate the treatment of people in jails and how communities are policed. They also are some of the most vocal opponents of reform, banding together in deputy unions and sheriff’s associations to protect murderers and rapists within their own ranks and to advocate against even the most common sense reforms.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR MOVEMENTS FOR JUSTICE AND EQUITY…

We can never get free when nearly every community in the country is overseen by an institution that was built to use violence and incarceration to maintain the dominance of wealthy, white men and that increasingly can be found at the head of movements to persecute immigrants and undermine democracy. The path to a future in which everyone is safe demands a reimagining of the sheriff.

WHERE DOES SHERIFFS’ POWER COME FROM?

Forty-eight out of 50 states have sheriff systems (all but Connecticut and Alaska) and 47 of those states (Rhode Island as the exception) elect their sheriffs. State law often gives sheriff’s expansive mandates with limited accountability mechanisms. Sheriff’s wield their power through:

 
 

  • —tough on crime politics that see incarceration as the solution to all social problems have led counties and state and federal agencies into sheriff’s offices.

  • —construction, health, gun, and technology companies receive lucrative contracts from the office of the sheriff in return for campaign dollars.

  • —even in states where county or state officials have oversight or removal powers, sheriffs are rarely held accountable for deaths in their jails, deputy misconduct or other abuse of office. Some sheriffs, calling themselves “Constitutional Sheriffs” even go so far as to falsely claim that they have the power to choose which laws to enforce.

  • —the National Sheriff Association and state sheriff associations are some of the most powerful opponents of criminal justice reform at both the state and national levels.

 

From the Defund Sheriffs toolkit

 

HOW TO HOLD SHERIFFS ACCOUNTABLE

YOU have the power to move your community towards a future where safety doesn’t depend on the sheriff.

While sheriffs often operate with impunity, there are ways to hold them accountable:

 

  • 1. Elections:

    Nearly all sheriffs are elected. The more that voters demand competitive elections and candidates who reflect the interests of their communities, the more responsive sheriff’s offices will be.

  • 2. Legislation:

    State legislation in particular shapes much of the power of sheriffs. The expansive role of sheriffs can be curtailed with policy that limits this authority, places constraints on sheriff’s offices, and shifts responsibilities to other agencies.

  • 3. Budgets:

    Sheriff budgets are usually set by the county government (this might be called something like the County Commissioners or Parish Council). Advocating for funds to be reallocated to alternative approaches to public safety can limit jail construction, militarized policing and curb the financial power of sheriffs.

  • 4. Narrative Change:

    Sheriffs operate like kings in many places because of their success in convincing the public that there is no alternative. By exposing the harms of sheriffs and introducing visions of public safety that do not depend on sheriffs into the public imagination, we can undermine the hostage mentality that sheriffs depend on.