We saw a sheriff’s deputy on the way to school this morning. I tried to explain the difference between a sheriff and a police officer to The Boy:
Law enforcement officers who work in towns and cities are called police. If they work outside of towns, in the county (even though towns are actually in the county), they are called sheriffs, only really they are sheriff’s deputies, and sometimes they are called just deputies. So if someone “calls the sheriff,” the sheriff probably won’t show up, he or she will send a deputy.
The law enforcement agency responsible for highways and interstates is called the Highway Patrol. Their officers are called State Troopers.
Simple, really.
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
