The sheriff is a government official with different responsibilities, which exists in some countries with historical origins in the UK. There is a similar but independently developed office in Iceland, which is usually translated into English as police chief, which will be discussed below.

Historically, the sheriff is the legal officer in charge of the county. The term is the abbreviation of "shiref" (ancient English SC ī rgerefa).

The history of Sheriff County serving as an officer of a colonial County in North America dates back to the 1660s. In modern America, the range of sheriffs varies by state and county (in Louisiana it's called the "diocese," in Alaska it's called the "borough"). Magistrates are usually elected county officials who act as chief civil law executives in their jurisdictions. Magistrates perform court orders and orders and may perform duties such as eviction, confiscation of property and assets and service of warrants and legal documents in accordance with court orders. In some counties with their own police stations in urban areas, the sheriff may only be subject to the duty of civil procedure execution, while in other counties, the sheriff may be the main police force and have jurisdiction over all cities and towns in the county, regardless of whether they have their own town or township police stations. The sheriff often manages County prisons and is responsible for the court's security functions within his jurisdiction.