Our County Sheriff's Office

Under Sheriff Eric Chaboty (middle) was the guest speaker at our February 16^th meeting. Sheriff Mike Schiff (left) also attended the meeting. Chaboty began his presentation by thanking our Rotary club for our generous donations over the years to the D.A.R.E. program. He went on to give an overview of the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office.

With the use of a projector and Powerpoint© presentation, Undersheriff Chaboty carefully traced the historical origins of the office of “Sheriff” which began over 1,000 years ago around the time of the Magna Carta. Geo-political subdivisions in nations were forming and in England 10 families together would be called a “Tun”, which evolved into the word “Town”. Ten “Tuns” would form a Shire (which is a County in England). The “Reeve” was the King's man. He was the representative in the Shire, the protector, and the tax collector. The Reeve was involved with arresting criminals and keeping the peace. Eventually the words Shire and Reeve evolved into Shire-Reeve or Sheriff. The concept of the office of sheriff came with the settlers to the new world. The first Sheriff in America is believed to have been Captain William Stone, appointed in 1634 in the Shire of North Hampton in the colony of Virginia.

The office of sheriff went on to become intertwined with American culture as the American frontier expanded west. In New York State the office of sheriff derives it's authority from several parts of our laws - the New York State Constitution, the New York State County Law, and the General Municipal Law. In all but a few counties and New York City, all county sheriffs are elected. The sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer in the county.

Our county sheriff's office was founded in 1809, the same year as Sullivan County. There have been 46 sheriffs since the county was founded. The current sheriff, Mike Schiff, was elected in 2005. Unlike other law enforcement agencies, the Sheriff answers directly to the people. He must be elected to office and can be replaced after his 4 year term is up if the people are not happy with him.

Within the Sullivan County Sheriff's office there is a Jail Division, a Civil Division, a Patrol Division, and a Security Division. Undersheriff Chaboty went on to outline, in detail, what each division does and he answered numerous questions put to him by members at the meeting. His enlightening presentation was well received.