New York City Sheriff's Office

Not to be confused with New York City Police Department.

New York City Sheriff's Office
Patch of the New York City Sheriff's Office.
Shield of the New York City Sheriff's Office
Motto	New York's First
Agency overview
Formed	1626
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction*	City of New York in the state of New York, USA
Map of New York City Sheriff's Office's jurisdiction.
Size	1,214.4 km²
Population	8,274,527
Legal jurisdiction	New York City
General nature	Law enforcement Civilian agency
Operational structure
Deputy Sheriffs	150
Agency executive	Edgar Domenech, Sheriff
Units	List Patrol Unit County Field Offices Warrants Unit Mental Health Enforcement Unit Auto Theft Unit Auction Unit Seizure Unit
Facilities
County Field Offices	5 List New York County Field Office for Manhattan Queens County Field Office for Queens Bronx County Field Office for The Bronx Kings County Field Office for Brooklyn Richmond County Field Office for Staten Island
Website
Official Site
Footnotes
* Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction.

The New York City Sheriff's Office is the civil law enforcement division of the New York City Department of Finance.^[1] The Sheriff's office is headed by a sheriff, who is appointed to the position by the mayor, unlike most sheriffs in New York State who are elected officials.^[2] Deputy sheriffs carry out the duties of the sheriff's office.

The New York City sheriff is the chief civil law enforcement officer for the city of New York. Responsibilities of deputy sheriffs include revenue collections in civil situations; collecting funds or making arrests for parents in arrears of child-support payments; and collecting on judicial judgments, and parking or moving violations. They handle enforcement judgments for both small claims and supreme court (criminal court). Such responsibilities may involve collection of unpaid taxes, enforcement of unpaid environmental fines, seizure of property and evictions. The sheriff also may sell real estate and personal property to satisfy judgments, and perform civil arrests. The sheriff's office has also become involved with cigarette-tax enforcement as well as assisting the NYC Department of Buildings in enforcing stop work orders. In addition, the sheriff sells vehicles not recovered by their owners, checks towed vehicles to determine if they are stolen, and enforces court judgments through a variety of programs.

History

The New York City Sheriff's Office was created in 1626. The sheriff in each borough was the law enforcement agency with the widest jurisdiction until the New York City consolidation in 1898 when the New York City Police Department took over responsibility for criminal investigations. The New York City sheriffs were responsible for running the correctional facilities in their counties until 1942, when the New York City Department of Correction was established.^[3]

Chain of Command

The sheriff's office has a chain of command that is similar to that of police departments and military organizations:^[4]

Title	Insignia	Uniform Shirt Color
Sheriff		White
First Deputy Sheriff		White
Chief of Staff		White
Undersheriff		White
Lieutenant		White
Sergeant		Dark Blue
Deputy Sheriff		Dark Blue

The current sheriff is Edgar A. Domenech.^[5] He was appointed to the position of sheriff by mayor Michael Bloomberg in January 2011. Sheriff Domenech is a retired Deputy Director from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives after 26 years of service.

Diversity of work performed

All law enforcement duties executed in the name of the sheriff are performed by deputy sheriffs. Because of the highly diverse law enforcement duties deputy sheriffs encounter, deputy sheriffs are cross trained in many areas of criminal law and civil law. The deputy sheriff can be considered the "jack of all trades" law enforcement officer. It is not unusual for a deputy sheriff to perform work similar to a police officer, correction officer, court officer, investigator, lawyer, and auctioneer all in one day. Because of the diversity in tasks a deputy sheriff must face, the requirements for deputy sheriff are one of the most stringent in comparison with other law enforcement positions available in the city and state.

In order to be hired, candidates must first pass a civil service entrance examination and meet strong educational requirements.

Units

County Field Offices

By law, the sheriff must maintain an office in each of the five counties of New York City. Deputy sheriffs assigned to these offices perform a variety of tasks such as executing arrest process (such as warrants of arrest), orders to commit, and mental hygiene warrants. Deputies also execute eviction process, service process, and the enforcement, seizure, and sale of property pursuant to judicial mandates. The county offices function like a police precinct, giving citizens of the county a local place to file court process in need of enforcement.

Patrol Unit

An NYC Sheriff's Office vehicle

Deputy sheriffs assigned to this unit perform patrol functions, searching the city streets with court mandates in order to seize vehicles for unpaid parking and moving violations, and issuing summonses to vehicles in violation of New York City traffic ordinances and New York State vehicle and traffic laws. This unit provides a law enforcement presence on the city streets, and the public calls upon them to help preserve order. This assistance can include: summoning emergency medical service; preventing and terminating crimes in progress or about to be committed; and any other peacekeeping function necessary to maintain law and order.

Warrants Unit

An NYC Sheriff's Office vehicle in old style livery

Deputy sheriffs assigned to this unit serve legal process such as summonses and subpoenas for family court offenses as well as arresting and jailing individuals pursuant to family court warrants of arrest and commitment. In addition, the warrants unit is sometimes called upon by other units to assist in arrests of a difficult or dangerous nature.

Mental Health Enforcement Unit (aka Kendra's Unit)

This unit enforces Kendra's Law, named after Kendra Webdale, who was pushed onto the subway tracks by a mentally ill man in 1999. Kendra's law provides a procedure for the removal of a patient, subject to a court order, to a hospital for evaluation and observation. In cases where the patient fails to comply with the ordered treatment and poses risk of harm, this unit will locate, detain, and transport the patient.

Auto Theft Unit

This unit works in conjunction with the patrol unit identifying stolen cars seized by the sheriff. This unit also works closely with the various district attorney's offices in other counties outside New York City in making arrests and combating automobile theft. In 2006, the New York City Sheriff's office recovered more stolen automobiles than any other law enforcement agency in New York State.^[6]

Auction Unit

This unit conducts judicial sales of vehicles seized by the sheriff. Deputies maintain order at large sales where hundreds of bidders may be present, and they safeguard and protect property seized, and proceeds.

Seizure Unit

Deputy sheriffs in this unit conduct high profile investigations and property seizures under court order. Businesses and individuals that owe the city money pursuant to unpaid city tax warrants, environmental control board summons, and fire and health code violations and fines, are targeted for enforcement action by this unit.

Power and Authority

Deputy sheriffs are New York State peace officers authorized to make warrantless arrests, carry and use handcuffs, carry and use a firearm, use physical and deadly force, and issue summonses. Per the Criminal Procedure Law, deputies have peace officer status on and off duty.^[7]

Equipment, Uniforms, and Vehicles

Deputy sheriffs wear a navy blue shirt, navy blue pants, and a 8-point hat when in patrol uniform. They wear a navy blue shirt, navy blue pants, a navy blue serge jacket, and a navy blue stetson when in class A uniform.

Deputy sheriffs are equipped with a firearm, can of pepper spray, expandable baton, handcuffs, and a flashlight.

Currently, the sheriff's office vehicle fleet is made up of Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptors, Vans, and Nissan Altimas, that are painted white with blue and gold decals. Their older vehicles have red decals and will be in service for the near future.^[8] They also use unmarked police cars of various models.

Service Pistol

Deputy sheriffs are authorized to carry the 9mm Glock 19 as their service pistol.

Fallen officers

Since the establishment of the sheriff’s offices in the 5 counties of New York City, 6 deputies have died in the line of duty.^[9]

Officer	Department	Date of Death	Details
Deputy Sheriff Henry Wendelstorf	Queens County Sheriff's Department, NY	Friday, June 25, 1897	Assault
Sheriff Paul Stier	Queens County Sheriff's Department, NY	Friday, October 13, 1916	Gunfire
Keeper Morris Broderson	Bronx County Sheriff's Office, NY	Thursday, July 19, 1928	Gunfire
Keeper Daniel D. Horgan	Bronx County Sheriff's Office, NY	Thursday, July 19, 1928	Gunfire
Deputy Sheriff John T. Miller	Queens County Sheriff's Department, NY	Thursday, March 30, 1939	Automobile accident
Deputy Sheriff Fred D'Amore	Queens County Sheriff's Department, NY	Thursday, March 30, 1939	Automobile accident

See also

	New York City portal
	New York portal
	Law enforcement/Law enforcement topics portal

• List of law enforcement agencies in New York
• Law enforcement in New York City
• Sheriff

References

1. ^ New York City Department of Finance page http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/services/services_enforcement.shtml
2. ^ N.Y. Constitution, Article 13, section 13. See [1] (pdf) at p. 41; see also [2] (html).
3. ^ McKinley, Jesse. "F.Y.I.", The New York Times, November 27, 1994. Accessed January 21, 2008. "Established in 1626, the Sheriff's office in Manhattan and its equivalents in the other boroughs served as a major part of the patchwork of law-enforcement agencies that existed before the city's consolidation in 1898. After that, the new New York City Police Department took over the responsibility for criminal investigations and arrests. As recently as 1942, the sheriff was also responsible for manning and administering the city's jails, a duty now carried by the Department of Correction. Today, the sheriff's primary duties are enforcing court-ordered judgments and fines, including unpaid parking tickets and littering fines, and collecting judgments from reluctant losers in private lawsuits, said John George, the Sheriff's executive assistant. "
4. ^ New York City Deputy Sheriff's Association
5. ^ Edgar A. Domenech Named New York City Sheriff
6. ^ New York State Assembly bill A01525 memo
7. ^ New York City Deputy Sheriff's Association
8. ^ [3] [4]
9. ^ The Officer Down Memorial Page

External links

• Sheriff of New York City - City of New York Department of Finance