Deputy sheriffs are law enforcement officers whose jurisdiction is countywide versus city or statewide like other police officers. A given county may have many deputy sheriffs and only one sheriff, which is usually an elected official who manages the deputy staff and oversees the department. As a deputy sheriff, some of your duties are similar to other police officers, including making arrests or responding to calls. However, you may also be assigned to patrol a particular area of the county, serve as an operator at the county jail, or act as county court security. In some rural regions, deputy sheriffs are the principal law enforcement agency if local departments are not fiscally possible to maintain.