| The office of sheriff
is one of antiquity. It is the oldest law enforcement office known
within the common-law system and it has always been accorded great
dignity and high trust. For the most part, the office of sheriff
evolved of necessity. Were it not for laws which require
enforcing, there would have been no necessity for the sheriff.
There would have been no need for the development of police
administration, criminology, criminalists, etc. Indeed, there is
no honorable law enforcement authority in Anglo-American law so ancient
as that of the county sheriff. And today, as in the past, the
county sheriff is a peace officer entrusted with the maintenance of law
and order and the preservation of domestic tranquility.
In 1066, William the Conqueror defeated the Anglo-Saxons and instituted his own Norman government in England. Both under the Anglo-Saxons and under the Normans, the King of England appointed a representative called a "reeve" to act on behalf of the King in each shire or county. The "shire reeve" or King's representative in each county, became the "sheriff" as the English language changed over the years. The shire reeve or sheriff was the chief law enforcement officer of each county in the year 1000 A.D., and still has the same function in the State of Georgia in the 21st Century.
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Sheriffs
have served and protected the English speaking peoples for a thousand
years. The office of sheriff and the law enforcement, judicial and
correctional functions he (or she) performs are more than 1,000 years
old. The office of sheriff dates back at least to the reign of
Alfred the Great of England, and some scholars even argue that the
office of sheriff was first created during the Roman occupation of
England.