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History of the Weld County Sheriff's Office
This is a history of the Weld County Sheriff's Office, to the fullest extent possible. The work would not be complete if it did not include a history of the County itself to help explain the formation of the Sheriff's Office. Weld County has one of the most colorful histories in the state, and included in that history are the sheriffs who have served the County.
We have also include much of the information on the history of the building itself, which is a big part of the Sheriff's Office, as well as the cars and weapons of the department. We have also mentioned some of the organizations that are involved with the Sheriff's Office, and without their help we would not be as nearly as effective as we are. Included in these organizations are the Weld County Sheriff's posse, which in itself is an important part of the history of the Sheriff's Office.
The term Sheriff actually originates from the English terms "Reeve of the Shire", a Shire actually being a group of approximately one hundred families, and the Reeve being the head of that shire. When anyone broke the law the Reeve of the Shire would put out the "Hue and Cry" to all the people and the guilty person would be brought to justice by any of the law abiding citizens in the Shire. The Term "Reeve of the Shire" was later shortened to "Sheriff", and followed the movement to the New World. In the United States every State has Sheriffs with the exception of Alaska, and they are all elected again with the exception of Hawaii which are appointed by the Governor. When most people think of a Sheriff they think of the programs or movies they have seen on television, of the old west and gunfights. Old West Sheriffs like Wyatt Earp or Bat Masterson help to extend that image, which in most cases is very different from the actual job that a Sheriff did. There were times that this was in fact reality, and some of those events are depicted in this book. The majority of the Sheriff's time was spent doing paperwork, serving court papers, and incarcerating offenders for court or as punishment.
The makeup of the Sheriff's Office today in no way resembles the Sheriff's Office of 1861. Today the budget exceeds
22 million dollars, and employs nearly 300 professional people. The Computer has replaced the pencil in many ways, to make the job faster and sometimes easier. There are currently
64 counties in the State of Colorado, and each has a Sheriff. They range from two or three person agencies to over one hundred employees. Today deputies perform functions from transportation to investigation, with several categories in between. All Sheriff's Offices in the State employ the latest law enforcement techniques and methods that all professional agencies in the world use, and while doing so there is a strong feeling of tradition that roots itself in the history of the country itself. Most Deputy Sheriff's perform the same functions that their Police Officer counter parts perform, plus a few more, and usually do so at a lesser wage then they would if they worked at a municipal Police Department. I'm not sure why this is, but I believe that this says something about the commitment of the Deputies not only to law enforcement, but to the Community they live in.
I don't have a crystal ball but I believe that the Sheriff's Office will continue to be an important part of the County and State government. I believe that the future will see a rapid growth in law enforcement technology, but this will be mixed with more community involvement.
Whether we are riding horses or going from call to call in some type of spacecraft, we will be there to try to meet the public need for law enforcement.
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