There shall be elected from the County at large a Sheriff, whose
term of office shall begin the first day of January next following
election to the position and shall be for four years as permitted
by state legislation. At the time of nomination and election, and
throughout the term of office, the Sheriff shall be and remain a qualified
elector of the County.
The Sheriff shall be the chief peace and law enforcement officer
for and have civil and criminal jurisdiction throughout the County.
As such, and except as may otherwise be provided in this Charter or
applicable law, the Sheriff shall:
(a) Organize and maintain a trained and operational law enforcement staff
to protect and otherwise serve the needs of the County and cooperate
with other law enforcement agencies within and outside the County
in furtherance thereof;
(b) Be responsible for the operation and security of the County jail,
the receipt, custody, and activities of all jail inmates, and all
programs respecting said inmates;
(c) Report in writing to the District Attorney not less than weekly the
identities of all inmates within the County jail, whether sentenced
or unsentenced, the nature of charges pending against all untried
or unsentenced inmates and the dates of their original confinement,
and the anticipated dates of release of all sentenced inmates;
(d) Exercise civil jurisdiction throughout the County respecting the
service of process and other legal papers and documents, the execution
of judgments, and the enforcement of court orders;
(e) Acquire, maintain and utilize within authorized appropriations and
County procedures such equipment, materials and supplies as may be
necessary or appropriate in the performance of the duties of the office;
(f) Have all the powers and perform all the duties, both criminal and
civil, now or hereafter conferred or imposed by law upon sheriffs,
and perform such other and related non-conflicting duties as may be
required by the Tompkins County Legislature.
The Sheriff shall have the power to appoint an Undersheriff
and such Deputy Sheriffs, assistants, and employees of the office
as shall be necessary to perform the duties of the office of County
Sheriff and as shall be authorized by the Tompkins County Legislature.
All Deputy Sheriffs, assistants, and employees shall be directly responsible
to the Sheriff.
(a) Each appointment by the Sheriff of persons to the staff shall be
in writing, filed, and recorded in the office of the County Clerk
(except in the case of civilian employees) and reported to the Office
of Human Resources. Before the appointment by the Sheriff of any person,
however, other than a person deputized to do particular acts, the
Sheriff shall require such person to submit to the Sheriff fingerprints
of both hands. It shall be the duty of the Sheriff to compare, or
cause to be compared, such fingerprints with fingerprints filed with
the Bureau of Identification and Information Services of the State
Division of Criminal Justice Services or other appropriate state agency;
(b) The Sheriff shall operate the County jail in accordance with standards
promulgated by the New York State Commission of Corrections. A female
employee shall at all times be in attendance when females are contained
in the jail;
(c) The Sheriff may deputize the peace or police officers of the city,
towns, villages, higher educational facilities, and special districts,
for the purpose of authorizing an arrest without a warrant outside
the territorial limits in the presence of such peace or police officer.
Such peace or police officer shall not, however, be deemed an officer,
agent, servant, or employee of the County;
(d) For the protection of human life and property during an emergency,
the Sheriff may deputize orally or in writing such number of additional
special deputies as the Sheriff deems necessary, taking into consideration
the Civil Service Law and relevant bargaining unit agreements.
There shall be a Jail Physician(s) appointed by the Sheriff
in consultation with the Public Health Director. The Jail Physician(s)
shall be directly responsible to the Sheriff for the health of the
inmates of the County Jail. The County Medical Director shall conduct
quarterly quality assessments of random inmate medical files and the
results of each assessment shall be reported to the Public Health
Director, Sheriff, and Captain of Corrections Officer. At the time
of appointment and throughout the term of office, the Jail Physician(s)
shall be and remain duly licensed to practice medicine in the State
of New York.