Duties of the Sheriff
Duties of the Sheriff as Enumerated in O.C.G.A. § 15-16-10
The main duties of a sheriff are law enforcement, the courts and the jail. The duties of the sheriff as enumerated in O.C.G.A. § 15-16-10 are:
- To execute and return the processes and orders of the courts;
- To attend, by himself or his deputy, upon all sessions of the Superior Court of the county and also upon sessions of the Probate Court whenever required, and while the courts are in session, never to leave the same without the presence of himself or his deputy, or both, if required;
- To attend at the place or places of holding an election at the county site, on the day of an election, from the opening to the closing of the polls;
- To publish sales, citations, and other proceedings as required by law and to keep a file of all newspapers in which his official advertisements appear;
- To keep an execution docket wherein he must enter a full description of all executions delivered to him and the dates of their delivery, together with all his actions thereon;
- To keep a book in which shall be entered a record of all sales made by process of court or by agreement of the parties under the sanction of the court, describing accurately the property and the process under which sold, the date of the levy and sale, the purchaser, and the price;
- To receive from the preceding Sheriff all unexecuted writs and processes and proceed to execute the same; to carry into effect any levy or arrest made by a predecessor; to put purchasers into possession, and to make titles to purchasers at his or her predecessor's sales, when not done by his or her predecessor;
- To perform such other duties as are or may be imposed by law or which necessarily appertain to his or her office;
- To exercise the same duties, powers, and arrest authority within municipalities which such officer exercises in the unincorporated areas of counties; and,
- To develop and implement a comprehensive plan for the security of the county courthouse and any courthouse annex. The sheriff shall be responsible to conduct a formal review of the security plan not less than every four years.
If any sheriff or deputy fails to comply with any of these duties, he shall be fined for a contempt and is subject to removal.
Additional Duties
The duties and responsibilities that the Office of Sheriff is charged with performing by statutory law are broad and varied as follows:
- Fulfill and enforce the laws governing raffles
- Receive, maintain, and make available a register of all known sex offenders as prescribed by law
- Receive, confine, feed, and care for all persons charged with violations of county ordinances, or indictable offenses, or otherwise confined to jail
- Maintain a record of all persons committed to the jail
- Receive, transport, and maintain custody of incarcerated individuals for court
- Formulate professional bonding company policies, approve and monitor transactions of bonding companies
- Define surety regulations, determine acceptability of surety and process arrest bonds
- Levy against property where ordered by the court and accept bond in lieu of
- Assist the county dog officer in the enforcement of the dangerous dog laws
- Cooperate with the Probate Court and Department of Agriculture with the seizure and forfeiture of illegally operated fuel pumps
- Serve as constable to the Magistrate Court in certain counties
- Maintain custody of jurors when deemed necessary by the court
- Confiscate and destroy any illegal gambling devices
- Seize property used in connection with racketeering
- Appoint a representative to the county Child Abuse Protocol Committee
- Serve as a member or designate as representative to serve as a member of the county Child Fatality Review Committee
- Designate the official organ of the county together with the Probate Judge and Clerk of Superior Court
- Impound any livestock running at large or straying
- Remain subject to the rule and order of the courts even after retirement from office
- Assist the State Fire Commissioner in assembling evidence and as to the causes or criminal origin of fires and in apprehending persons guilty of arson
- Confiscate and destroy illegal fireworks
- Seize any wildlife taken or possessed in violation of the state wildlife laws and regulations
- Enforce the laws and regulations of the "Georgia Boat Safety Act"
- Perform criminal background check for applicants for employment at nursing homes
- Require any professional bondsman who is a resident of or doing business in the Sheriff's county to register his or her bail recovery agents in that county; The professional bondsman must submit to the Sheriff, in a form and manner to be determined by the Sheriff, a list of all bail recovery agents whose services may be used by such bondsman
- Take custody of persons with contagious tuberculosis causing imminent danger to the public when ordered by the court
- Inquire into the truth of the allegations court nonresident property owners where the property is being condemned
- File a return with the grand jury regarding the county monies received and expenditures made
- Keep all courthouses, jails, public grounds and other county property preserving them from injury or waste and preventing intrusions on them
- Cooperate and render extraterritorial assistance to other law enforcement agencies requesting assistance
- Approve any mutual aid agreements for local emergency services as prescribed under the "Georgia Mutual Aid Act"
- Transport mental health patients as ordered by the court
- Transport mental retardation patients undergoing habilitation as ordered by the court
- Notify the Governor of invasion, disaster, insurrection, riot, breach of the peace, combination to oppose the enforcement of the law by force or violence, or imminent danger thereof, or other grave emergency, when it appear that the unlawful combination or disaster has progressed beyond the control of civil authorities; the Governor may then activate the state militia
- Execute process and mandates of the military courts
- Execute and collect all fines and penalties assessed by the military courts
- Endorse applications for delinquent vehicles
- Prepare police reports for lost, mutilated, or stolen license plates or revalidation decals
- Maintain and keep current the list of specially issued license plates for National Guard members and amateur radio station operators
- Take reports from persons who purchase for resale a motor vehicle or used part from which the identification markings or plates have been removed, altered, mutilated, or destroyed
- Work traffic accidents resulting in injury to or death of any person or property damage to an apparent extent of $500 or more
- Report in writing each month to the Department of Transportation the death of any person within their jurisdiction as the result of a traffic accident
- Approve county participation in regional jail authority
- Coordinate delivery of incarcerated individuals to probation boot camps
- Participate in the approval of the establishment of a Department of Corrections pretrial release and diversion program in the county along with the superior court judges and district attorney
- Direct any county diversion program for child support offenders
- Receive notice of all paroled inmates
- Maintain a register of all precious metal dealers
- Post notices and ascertain occupant identities for land registration law compliancy
- Remove obstructions on private ways as ordered by the court
- Conduct sales of levied property and return proceeds to court
- Eject intruders in land disputes unless the person in possession tenders to the Sheriff a counter affidavit stating that he claims, in good faith, a legal right to the possession of the land or tenement
- Secure property under a writ of possession
- Destroy as contraband or turn over to the telecommunication service provider any unlawful telecommunication device that has been seized
- Participate in the "911" Advisory Board
- Enforce the collection of all taxes that may be due the state under any law and ensure that all persons violating any of the tax laws of this state are prosecuted for all such violations
- Assist in enforcing the "Motor Fuel Tax Law"