Exactly what does the Allegheny County sheriff do?

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | Sunday, September 15, 2002 | Jeffrey Cohan

[Willie Green]

Allegheny County taxpayers will pony up more than $10 million this year to equip and pay the 200 employees of the Sheriff's Office.

But what is the public getting for all that money?

The question -- always worth asking -- has become downright pressing now that Sheriff Pete DeFazio and Chief Executive Jim Roddey are trading shots in a high-profile budget battle.

[martin_fierro]

Exactly what does the Allegheny County sheriff do?

That's a MUCH easier question to answer than: Exactly what does the Allegheny County Office of Minority, Women and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises do?

Leave it to the PiG to bash cops.

[genefromjersey]

That's not TOO much different from NJ. Here, the Sheriff provides courthouse security, moves defendants back and forth to courts,serves summonses and writs,(in some counties-runs the county jail ),executes court warrants,looks for "fugitives" in civil cases, and whatever else the judges want.

Unlike some states, NJ does not hand off law enforcement chores to the Sheriff, as a general rule; and most Sheriffs discourage deputies from getting overly involved in law enforcement tasks normally handled by regular police depts.

As almost anywhere else in the country,NJ Sheriffs have major budget and staffing problems, and are subject to a lot more political pressure than regular police units.