Undersheriff

An undersheriff is an office derived from ancient British practice and still extant in, among other places, the United Kingdom and the United States, though somewhat different forms.

United States

In American law enforcement, the Undersheriff is the person second in charge of a sheriff's office. In some departments, the title of Undersheriff is official, while in others, a different title is used for the second person in charge. For example, in many small departments, the title of Chief Deputy is often used for the second in command; however, in some large departments, the Undersheriff is second in command and in turn oversees several Chiefs-Deputy. In some places the Undersheriff is the warden of the county jail.

The New York City Sheriff's Office has five undersheriffs: each one is responsible for a borough of New York City, with the Sheriff of the City of New York overseeing all of them.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the Undersheriff is the deputy of the High Sheriff and is appointed directly by the High Sheriff. In practice, the undersheriff performs most of the legal functions of the sheriff for him. The same person (usually a solicitor) is appointed annually by successive sheriffs over many years, leaving the sheriff to perform the honorific functions of his office.