Pass law to give sheriffs more enforcement powers (Pennsylvania)

A number of important issues face our state lawmakers as they return to Harrisburg following the summer recess. One is a proposal that would give nearly 2,500 deputy sheriffs with extensive law enforcement training the authority to fully participate in protecting our communities from crime and drugs.

A ruling this year by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court created confusion over what types of law enforcement activities can be performed by deputy sheriffs. The court ruled that, under current Pennsylvania statute, sheriffs and deputy sheriffs were not ''investigative or law enforcement officers.'' Based on that decision, the Office of Attorney General has temporarily suspended the involvement of about 75 deputy sheriffs who served on Drug Task Forces throughout the commonwealth. Attorney General Tom Corbett told the sheriffs at our annual conference that it was one of the toughest letters his office had to write.



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Mobile News | Subscribe Online | Order Reprints The court acknowledged the need for legislation that would resolve the issue of whether deputy sheriffs are investigative or law enforcement officers. The Pennsylvania Sheriffs' Association, along with other local, county and state organizations, is working with state lawmakers to draft legislation that would address the court's concerns.

Over the years, the office of sheriff has evolved into much more than a court security and prisoner transfer agency. For example, the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office operates in the same fashion as local and state police. Some sheriff offices patrol long stretches of rural roads where there is no local police force. And deputy sheriffs participated in drug enforcement operations, DUI task forces and emergency response teams on a daily basis.

Now, there is a question about whether deputy sheriffs can continue to participate in the law enforcement duties they had before the court ruling. As one major newspaper opined: ''Do we want to effectively handcuff nearly 2,500 well-trained deputies around the Commonwealth? We think not. There's no shortage of crime in this state, but there is a shortage of trained individuals to respond to it.''

The Pennsylvania Sheriffs' Association is seeking a legislative remedy to authorize deputy sheriffs to participate in the same law enforcement activities they have done effectively in the past. This is not expansion of sheriffs' duties; rather it is recognition of the valuable law enforcement services performed by sheriff offices in protecting the public.

In March 2004, two deputy sheriffs in Bradford County — Michael VanKuren and Christopher Burgert — were gunned down and killed while serving a warrant on a methamphetamine suspect. Since the Supreme Court decision, Sheriff Steven Evans reported that his office effectively has been sidelined from the war on meth in that rural county.

Last month, Reading Police Officer Scott A. Wertz was shot and killed. Officer Wertz's death was the latest in a string of violence that has besieged Reading. Statistics show that crime is spreading into the suburbs. However, the 81 men and women who serve as deputy sheriffs in Berks County cannot fully participate in protecting their communities, even though nearly all meet the state training requirements for police officers.

In Pennsylvania, county sheriffs are elected by the voters. That means the sheriff, like a district attorney or attorney general, is accountable to the people for the law enforcement services performed by his or her deputies.

In addition, the county commissioners control how much funding a sheriff's office receives. The fiscal control by the commissioners effectively would dictate which law enforcement activities the sheriff could perform based on the available resources.

It is unlikely that jurisdictional issues would affect the sheriffs' law enforcement duties. Local, state and federal law enforcement agencies work cooperatively every day to fight crime without being sidetracked by jurisdictional issues. Sheriff offices, which have worked side-by-side with other law enforcement agencies, would seamlessly reintegrate alongside the agencies.

A majority of Pennsylvanians support the inclusion of county sheriffs as an intricate part of daily law enforcement activities throughout the county and its respective communities. According to a poll commissioned in May 2006 by the Pennsylvania Sheriffs' Association, nearly 65 percent of registered voters in Pennsylvania are in favor of reaffirming the inclusion of sheriffs and their deputies in actively investigating crimes and making arrests as a part of their respective duties and responsibilities.

The Pennsylvania Sheriffs' Association looks forward to working with members of the General Assembly, Gov. Ed Rendell and interested parties to address this important law enforcement issue. The people of Pennsylvania deserve and expect the protection and services of all trained law enforcement personnel within their respective communities throughout the Commonwealth.

The 67 sheriffs and nearly 2,500 deputy sheriffs in our Commonwealth are ready, willing and able to fully serve the people of Pennsylvania.

Monroe County Sheriff Todd A. Martin is president of the Pennsylvania Sheriffs' Association.

''The court acknowledged the need for legislation that would resolve the issue of whether deputy sheriffs are investigative or law enforcement officers.''