Deputy

Deputies are law enforcement officers working for an agency headed by a sheriff. They are sometimes referred to by the title sheriff's deputy, deputy sheriff, sheriff's police, or sheriff's officer, and are so-titled because they are deputized by the sheriff and charged with performing all the duties prescribed to the sheriff by that state's law. In some states a sheriff may not be a sworn peace officer, but merely an elected civilian official lacking police powers who oversees the department and its sworn peace officers. Law enforcement officers working for such departments may be subdivided, sometimes titled general deputy and special deputy.