Sheriff? Hardly even know if…
County sheriffs serve four-year terms pretty much in line with what children imagine a sheriff does. The Texas Constitution1 and Local Government Code23 outline a few other duties for this elected office as well:
- Appointing active and reserve deputies
- Appointing county police force (in counties with >210,000 people) for locations in the county outside of the county seat (ex: places outside of Houston that are still in Harris County)
- Hire emergency guards for county prison
- “Execute process” (i.e. round ‘em up, subpoena, writs, sieze property) as instructed by county courts, Texas House Speaker, Texas Senate President, or committee chair of Texas Legislature
- Serving as “keeper” and “administrator” of county jails
- There seems to be a good bit about the county sheriff having “exclusive” control of the jail commissary (restaurant) contracting and finances — unless the county has 1+ million people, is next to a county with 1+ million people, or contains two cities with 200,000+ people each.
Harris County Sheriff4
Harris County Sheriff oversees 4,600 employees, Harris County Jail, and 1,800 square miles (including 41 cities and unincorporated Harris County) outside of Houston.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez
Ed Gonzalez serves his second term as Harris County Sheriff. Gonzalez was re-elected in November 2020.
Apparently the Department Manual for Harris County Sheriff’s Office is available online!
November 2023 Elections
Nothing to do here except register to vote. Let’s talk again in two years when Sheriff Gonzalez’s term is up.
Appendix: Sources
Texas Legislature Online - Texas Constitution Article V Judicial Department Section 23 Sheriffs ↩
Texas Legislature Online - Local Government Code Title III Organization of County Government Subtitle B Commissioners Court and County Officers Chapter 85 Sheriff Subchapter A Sheriff and Sheriff’s Personnel ↩
Texas Legislature Online - Local Government Code Title XI Public Safety Subtitle B County Public Safety Chapter 351 County Jails and Law Enforcement Subchapter A County Jail Facilities ↩
Houston Chronicle - Ed Gonzalez wins second term as Harris County sheriff ↩