Police, Sheriff and Constable?

[PHS Wildcats]

Please don't be to hard on me, but I've always wondered whatthe difference was between the 3. They each can arrest you, but are there certain juristdiction that each holds over the other or are they all on the same level?:thinking:

Thanks

[HM33]

Police = city limits, unless violation was done in the city limits

Sheriff = County

Constable = Don't know but i think similar to sheriff

[sinton66]

Generally, the constables are elected county officers who serve warrants. They can also make arrests and write tickets. Their jurisdictional boundary is the county line.

[Old Green]

Police -The Cheif is appointed. Enforces city ordinances, traffic codes, and state criminal laws within city limits.

Sheriff - elected to county wide office. enforces criminal and civil laws, traffic codes

Constable- elected in his precinct. Enforces criminal laws and chief civil officer of the county court for his precinct.

All entities have statewide powers of arrest.

[sinton66]

Constables are elected at the Precinct level. Constables are constitutionally authorized peace officers. Constables have the same arrest powers and duties as municipal police officers and sheriffs and have the added responsibility of executing civil process for the courts.

The mission of this office is to serve as judicial officers for our courts. Their responsibilities include executing warrants and serving process that are directed to the constable including eviction actions and seizing property. A constable executes any civil or criminal process throughout the county including citation, notice, warrant, subpoena, or writ. The Constable's can also enforce traffic laws and any other duties that fall on Texas Peace Officers.

[Old Green]

Originally posted by sinton66
Constables are elected at the Precinct level. Constables are constitutionally authorized peace officers. Constables have the same arrest powers and duties as municipal police officers and sheriffs and have the added responsibility of executing civil process for the courts.

The mission of this office is to serve as judicial officers for our courts. Their responsibilities include executing warrants and serving process that are directed to the constable including eviction actions and seizing property. A constable executes any civil or criminal process throughout the county including citation, notice, warrant, subpoena, or writ. The Constable's can also enforce traffic laws and any other duties that fall on Texas Peace Officers. I ran for constable once. Lost a close race by a few votes.

[sinton66]

Originally posted by Old Green
I ran for constable once. Lost a close race by a few votes.

I would have voted for you.;)

[PHS Wildcats]

Thanks

[Ranger Mom]

I had a constable come to my office with a warrant for my arrest several years back. They asked for "Kellye Blair" which was my FIRST married name and I had recently remarried. I told them I used to be "Kellye Blair"...they told me to stand up and put my hands behind my back because they had a warrant for my arrest. I asked them for what? The said "theft".

I was in such shock that I was just gonna go with them...about that time my boss comes walking through and asked what was going on. I told her and she asked to look at the warrant.

She asked me my driver's license number so I told her, she asked me my birthdate, I told her...and she then asked me what my sex was....which I thought was strange, but I said "female!"

She turned around and looked at the constable and said..."that's strange, according to this warrant, she didn't get a single answer correct, not even the sex"

I then looked at the warrant and it clearly said the sex was male......they were looking for my ex husband, whose name was also Kelly!!!:D

Needless to say, my boss let me go home early that day!!

[pirate4state]

Originally posted by Ranger Mom
I had a constable come to my office with a warrant for my arrest several years back. They asked for "Kellye Blair" which was my FIRST married name and I had recently remarried. I told them I used to be "Kellye Blair"...they told me to stand up and put my hands behind my back because they had a warrant for my arrest. I asked them for what? The said "theft".

I was in such shock that I was just gonna go with them...about that time my boss comes walking through and asked what was going on. I told her and she asked to look at the warrant.

She asked me my driver's license number so I told her, she asked me my birthdate, I told her...and she then asked me what my sex was....which I thought was strange, but I said "female!"

She turned around and looked at the constable and said..."that's strange, according to this warrant, she didn't get a single answer correct, not even the sex"

I then looked at the warrant and it clearly said the sex was male......they were looking for my ex husband, whose name was also Kelly!!!:D

Needless to say, my boss let me go home early that day!!

I love Ranger Mom story hour!!! :D :D :D

[lepfan]

I had a deputy come to the door with a warrant for the arrest of a person with the same name as my husband...violation of probation...I told them he was not on probation...they finally believed me when we did the birthday and middle name comparison...they just grabbed a phone book and assumed it was the right address! I was like 8 months pregnant at the time...they almost got to deliver a baby on the door step

[Ranger Mom]

Originally posted by pirate4state
I love Ranger Mom story hour!!! :D :D :D


I can laugh about it now, but it was pretty traumatic at the time as I have never been in any trouble with the law!!!

I can't believe I was gonna get up, let them handcuff me and walk me out of there (in high heels, no less) without questioning it more!!

Thank God my boss walked through the front office when she did!!

What's funny is....to this day when my ex runs his credit there is a little comment on it, "aka: Kellye Simmons, which is ME!!! He has explained it over and over the past few years to them and they still haven't taken it off!!

[STANG RED]

I dont know if it is most or just some, but I know a lot of small towns have done away with the Constable position entirely. They just use the Police and Sheriff's Dept to preform those duties now.
Most Constables just ride around and do absolutely nothing most of the time anyway. Wish I could get a job like that.:D

[Ranger Mom]

Originally posted by STANG RED
I dont know if it is most or just some, but I know a lot of small towns have done away with the Constable position entirely. They just use the Police and Sheriff's Dept to preform those duties now.
Most Constables just ride around and do absolutely nothing most of the time anyway. Wish I could get a job like that.:D

Our constable office in Midland went by the wayside for a while after my "incident" but it back in full force now!

[NastySlot]

I once heard that the word COPS comes from Constable of Peace.

[STANG RED]

Originally posted by NastySlot
I once heard that the word COPS comes from Constable of Peace.

:thinking: :thinking: :thinking: maybe so. never heard that before, but it works for me.

[Ranger Mom]

Several popular etymologies, all certainly false, exist for this word meaning policeman. One says that it is an acronym standing for Constable On Patrol. Another says that the first policemen in London (or another city--it varies in the telling) had copper buttons on their uniforms. Yet another says that it was not buttons, but a copper badge that gave them the name.
While the ultimate origin is disputed, most authorities agree that it is a shortening of copper. Cop was first used in 1859 and copper predates it from 1846. Copper, as slang for policeman, derives from the verb to cop, which dates from 1704 and means to catch. The OED2 notes that an 1864 newspaper stated that people would exhibit a copper coin as they passed a policeman, in effect calling them copper. This may have been the beginning of the confusion with the metal copper.

The ultimate origin of the verb copper is disputed. It either derives from the Dutch kapen, meaning to take. This in turn comes from the Old Frisian capia, meaning to buy. The other choice is that it derives from the French caper, to take, and ultimately from the Latin capere.

Link (http://www.policeworld.net/vb/archive/index.php?t-1700.html) :nerd:

[Old Green]

Originally posted by NastySlot
I once heard that the word COPS comes from Constable of Peace. You are right on that point. It started in England.

[Old Green]

Originally posted by STANG RED
I dont know if it is most or just some, but I know a lot of small towns have done away with the Constable position entirely. They just use the Police and Sheriff's Dept to preform those duties now.
Most Constables just ride around and do absolutely nothing most of the time anyway. Wish I could get a job like that.:D It is true. Most Counties have done away with the constables positions or combined 2 precincts into one thus eliminating some constable positions. DeWitt county did this going from 4 constables to 2.

[pirate4state]

I think now we all know the difference between the 3! :nerd:

[LHPfactory]

Constable comes from the "keeper of the stables" and they are peace officers, however, their primary duty is serving civil process. Harris county is different in the fact that the constables are the comissioners courts personal police department. A large number of patrol constables work unincorporated areas of Harris County along with the Harris County Sheriff's Deputies. This is a bone on contion in Houston with the two agencies.

That being said Police, Sheriffs Deputies, and Constables have the same authority and all are listed as peace officers along with numerous other in the CCP ( Code of Criminal Procedure). Their assigned duties and areas of responsibility do vary however.

[Trashman]

Howdy!

[WOS87]

The Texas Constitution of 1956 (Article 5, Section 18) provides for the election of a constable in each precinct of a county, and counties may have between one and eight precincts each depending on their population. Currently, the term of office for Texas constables is four years. However, when vacancies arise, the commissioners court of the respective county has the authority to appoint a replacement to serve out the remaining term.

In Texas, constables and their deputies are fully empowered peace officers with county-wide jurisdiction and thus, may legally exercise their authority in any precinct within their county; however, some constables’ offices limit themselves to providing law enforcement services only to their respective precinct, except in the case of serving civil and criminal process. Constables and their deputies may serve civil process in any precinct in their county and any contiguous county and can serve warrants anywhere in the state.

The duties of a Texas constable generally include providing bailiffs for the justice of the peace court(s) within his precinct and serving process issued therefrom and from any other court. Moreover, some constables’ offices limit themselves to only these activities but others provide patrol, investigative, and security services as well.

In 2000, there were 2,630 full-time deputies and 418 reserve deputies working for the 760 constables’ offices in Texas. Of this number, 35% were primarily assigned to patrol, 33% to serving process, 12% to court security, and 7% to criminal investigations. The Harris County Precinct 4 and 5 Constables’ Offices are the largest constables’ offices in Texas with over 300 deputies each.

[Phil C]

I can't understand why counties would eliminate all constable positions. I know one County that kept one and paid him a small salary of $100 per month plus expenses to keep up required training. They did that because the Constable is the only County official that can arrest the Sheriff. He could fire his deputies on the spot if they tried to arrest him. That is why a county needs to at least keep one constable which they can at a nominal cost.

[sinton66]

Since the Constables are mandated by the Texas Constitution, the counties probably can't get rid of all of them. They may well be able to reduce the numbers, but I doubt they can eliminate them altogether.

[WOS87]

Here are the officially reported salaries of the constables from each of the counties. There are quite a few of the smaller counties which just have "none" listed. I'm assuming that those are ones that do not have a constable?

Counties less than 5,000 in population (http://idisk.mac.com/cboehme69-Public/nonsports/constables1.gif)

Counties with between 5,000 and 9,999 in population (http://idisk.mac.com/cboehme69-Public/nonsports/constables2.gif)

Counties with between 10,000 and 24,999 in population (Part I) (http://idisk.mac.com/cboehme69-Public/nonsports/constables3.gif)

Counties with between 10,000 and 24,999 in population (Part II) (http://idisk.mac.com/cboehme69-Public/nonsports/constables4.gif)

Counties with between 25,000 and 49,999 in population (http://idisk.mac.com/cboehme69-Public/nonsports/constables5.gif)

Counties with between 50,000 and 99,999 in population (http://idisk.mac.com/cboehme69-Public/nonsports/constables6.gif)

Counties with more than 100,000 population (http://idisk.mac.com/cboehme69-Public/nonsports/constables7.gif)

[Phil C]

Originally posted by sinton66
I would have voted for you.;)

I would have voted for him for president this year over the main three (or two now) that we have a choice from.

[Ranger Mom]

Originally posted by WOS87
Here are the officially reported salaries of the constables from each of the counties. There are quite a few of the smaller counties which just have "none" listed. I'm assuming that those are ones that do not have a constable?

Counties less than 5,000 in population (http://idisk.mac.com/cboehme69-Public/nonsports/constables1.gif)

Counties with between 5,000 and 9,999 in population (http://idisk.mac.com/cboehme69-Public/nonsports/constables2.gif)

Counties with between 10,000 and 24,999 in population (Part I) (http://idisk.mac.com/cboehme69-Public/nonsports/constables3.gif)

Counties with between 10,000 and 24,999 in population (Part II) (http://idisk.mac.com/cboehme69-Public/nonsports/constables4.gif)

Counties with between 25,000 and 49,999 in population (http://idisk.mac.com/cboehme69-Public/nonsports/constables5.gif)

Counties with between 50,000 and 99,999 in population (http://idisk.mac.com/cboehme69-Public/nonsports/constables6.gif)

Counties with more than 100,000 population (http://idisk.mac.com/cboehme69-Public/nonsports/constables7.gif)

Your endless supply of "stats" never ceases to amaze me!!:eek:

[nobogey72]

Originally posted by Old Green
I ran for constable once. Lost a close race by a few votes.

That's weird and ironic. You ran FOR constable, and I ran FROM a constable one time. :thinking: :D