2-02/010.00 - The Sheriff

Among other statutory duties, the Government Code of the State of California sets forth the following duties of the Sheriff:

"The Sheriff shall preserve peace, and to accomplish this objective may sponsor, supervise, or participate in any project of crime prevention, rehabilitation of persons previously convicted of crime, or the suppression of delinquency.

"The Sheriff shall arrest and take before the nearest magistrate for examination all persons who attempt to commit or who have committed a public offense.

"The Sheriff shall prevent and suppress any affrays, breaches of the peace, riots, and insurrections which come to his knowledge, and investigate public offenses which have been committed.

"Except as otherwise provided by law, whenever required, the Sheriff shall attend all Superior and Municipal Courts held within his County provided, however, that a Sheriff shall attend a civil action only if the presiding judge or his designee makes a determination that the attendance of the Sheriff at such action is necessary for reasons of public safety.  The Sheriff shall obey all lawful orders and directions of all courts held within his County.

"The Sheriff shall command the aid of as many adult inhabitants of his County as he thinks necessary in the execution of his duties.

"The Sheriff shall take charge of and keep the County jail and the prisoners in it.

"The Sheriff shall release on the record all attachments of real property and shall give the required written release of attachments or garnishments of personal property when the attachment or garnishment placed in his hand has been released or discharged either in full or in part.

"The Sheriff shall endorse upon all process and notices the year, month, day, hour, and minute of reception and on payment of fees issued to the person delivering it a certificate showing the names of the parties, title of paper, and time when received.

"The Sheriff shall serve all process and notices in the manner prescribed by law.

"The Sheriff shall certify upon process or notices the manner and time of service, or if he fails to make service, the reason of his failure, and return the process or notices without delay.

"The Sheriff in attendance upon court shall act as the crier thereof.  He shall call the parties and witnesses and all other persons bound to appear at the court and make proclamation of the opening and adjournment of the court and of any other matter under its direction.

"The Sheriff may supply ambulance service within the County to any person if all of the following conditions exist:

• The person has been rendered so desperately ill, whether by sudden sickness or accident, that immediate hospitalization is necessary in order to save life or limb;
• His condition is such that he is not able himself to arrange for ambulance transportation;
• No relatives or friends provide such services;
• Immediate transportation to the hospital cannot be obtained except by extending the credit of the County; and
• Ambulance service is not available or cannot be obtained within the time necessary in order to save life or limb from any other department, Bureau, or agency of the County which is authorized by law to furnish the service.

"Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 29601, the Board of Supervisors in a County having a population in excess of 3,000,000 may authorize the Sheriff to enforce the provisions of the vehicle code in the unincorporated area of such County but only upon County highways.  The expense incurred by the Sheriff in the performance of such duties shall be a proper County charge.

"The Sheriff shall, on or before the fifth day of each month, forward to the Department of the California Highway Patrol copies of all accident reports made to the Sheriff's office and all accident reports of accidents investigated by the Sheriff's office."

In addition, the Sheriff is accountable to the citizens of Los Angeles County and to members of the Department for:

• His personal acts and omissions and, when appropriate, the acts and omissions of his subordinates.  In connection therewith, his supervisory and managerial responsibilities shall include, among others:
  • A responsibility to take appropriate corrective measures consistent with his rank and authority when he is, or reasonably should be, aware that such measures are called for; and
  • A responsibility to use the information and management tools available to him, including, but not limited to, manual and automated personnel information, to attempt to anticipate and address, through corrective measures consistent with his authority, reasonably identifiable Department risks or potential employee misconduct;
• Supporting and promoting the Department's Core Values, Service Oriented Policing philosophy, affirmative action guidelines and the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics by both actions and statements;
• Reinforcing, through actions and statements, the Department's position on discrimination, sexual harassment and cultural diversity;
• Minimizing the risk of litigation to the County, Department and its employees by monitoring, reviewing, documenting, disciplining and rewarding employee performance, as well as by effecting procedures or policies that contribute to risk management;
• Keeping the public trust by demanding a high degree of personal integrity from all command personnel and, in turn, requiring that they do the same with their subordinates; and
• Insuring that Department policy and procedures are effectively communicated to all personnel,
• Ensuring that subordinate personnel have a clear understanding of appropriate and expected conduct when dealing with both co-workers and the community we serve.