SHERIFF

Your Traffic Accident Wasn't Handled Right!

SHERIFF

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SHERIFF DEPARTMENTS IN GENERAL

Sheriff Departments are a truly unique group of law enforcement officers. Many of them work alone out in a county and they never know whom they will run into or how far their help might be.

Normally, they get along very well with the California Highway Patrol because they cover the same general area and they know that they are each other's back up most of the time.

Sheriff Department are the law enforcement agency charged with investigating crimes against person or property in the county. The California Highway Patrol handles all crimes dealing with traffic enforcement including drunk drivers, auto theft, traffic accidents and all crimes on state property.

Stanislaus County Sheriff Department:

This is their "Mission Statement"

We, the members of the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department are dedicated to serve and protect the community through the highest standards of professionalism and ethical conduct by ENFORCEMENT, PREVENTION and EDUCATION in partnership with the community.

We would like to bring to your attention the lack of any mention of traffic duties.

There is one small space devoted to traffic related duties and that is dealing with one of their "contracted cities." Now here is something of interest, in Stanislaus County there are several cities that thought it would be a great idea to contract with the Sheriff Department to take over their little city police department(s).

Some, but not all officers would be hired by the Sheriffs Department (mainly the brass) and their officers would be moved into locations within the department. Here is the clincher, now you have a law enforcement body working within a city that has next to zero training in traffic investigations