Attempts to appoint the sheriff and other crucial elected officials has been a popular debate in many states. Such suggestions are well intended but will not accomplish the underlying goal. The main purpose behind this idea, appears to be an attempt to make certain that jail operations are run in the most efficient manner possible. Some reasoning is based on the fact that jail construction and operation has become a multi-million dollar business. The best argument opposing appointment of the sheriff was raised by Sheriff C.W. Kidd, Jr., of Mecklengburg County, North Carolina. He aired his argument in a response to an editorial in a local newspaper, The Charlotte Observer. The editorial supported appointing the sheriff and other elected officials. Sheriff Kidd responded in part by saying: The sheriff is an office which traces its roots back to the Bible in the Book of Daniel, continued to be a vital part of our Anglo-Saxon history in England, and was a crucial aspect of the historical development of our own country. The office of sheriff has remained as a cornerstone of government of the people and by the people in every state of America (excluding Alaska)....An elected sheriff, answerable to the people through the ballot box is a bench mark of the American criminal justice system which should not ever be changed-simply because it works! - Appointing the sheriff (and other constitutional officers) is not the answer. The answer is electing persons with credibility and leadership ability who will operate and manage sheriffs departments which are staffed by highly-trained professionals....The sheriffs of the United States, through various professional associations, are constantly upgrading entrance-level requirements for deputies and additional in-service training is now also mandated by most states and individual sheriffs departments. - The bottom lines is: sheriffs of any county should not remain sheriff if he or she does not demonstrate that his or her department is a top professional law enforcement agency. Replacing the elected sheriff with someone who does not answer to the public would not guarantee professionalism; electing sheriffs who are themselves professional leaders will. The office of sheriff, belongs to the people. It is both symbolic and pragmatic. We should never appoint the sheriff, the chief constitutional officer of our counties. - Bill Nolan CC Sheriff - circa 1991
Posted on: Sat, 08 Mar 2014 23:36:51 +0000
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