|
The office of the "Sheriff" existed in England before the Magna Carta. The name
is derived from two words "Shire" meaning "County" and "Reeve" meaning "keeper
or bailiff", and arrived in this county with the "common law" by the colonists
who fled England.
In 1836, Edgar R. Hugunin became the first Sheriff in the territory of Wisconsin
when Racine and Kenosha Counties were part of Milwaukee County. On December 7th
of that year, Racine and Kenosha Counties were set off, until 1850 when Kenosha
County was organized. On May 29, 1848, the territory of Wisconsin was admitted
to the union and enabled to form a constitution and state government. The
constitution of Wisconsin provides for a Sheriff in each county, resulting in
the Sheriff being known as a constitutional officer.
In the early days, the Sheriff provided the local law enforcement and operated
the common jail. As the county grew, local law enforcement developed in those
communities desiring more services than was available from the County Sheriff.
While the Sheriff is ultimately responsible for all law enforcement activities
in the entire county, he is able to accomplish this through local police
agencies performing these services if available from the local government. With
the growth in local law enforcement, there has been a change in the role of the
Sheriff.
The Sheriff Department has progressed towards doing those police functions that
have county wide implications and are best handled county wide. These would
include Consumer Fraud, Scuba Team, SWAT Team, D.A.R.E. Officers, Courts, Jail,
Civil Process, Welfare Fraud, and Snowmobile patrol. The Sheriff takes an
active role in facilitating the coordination of law enforcement activities in
his county.
|