constable

A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. However, the office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.

Originally, in some European countries during the Middle Ages, a constable was a person in charge of keeping the horses of his lord. The title comes from the Latin comes stabuli (attendant of the stables).

In some countries this developed into a high military rank, such as:

• The Constable of France
• The Constable of Portugal
• The Lord High Constable of England
• The Lord High Constable of Scotland

A constable could also be someone in charge of the defence of a castle. Even today, there is a Constable of the Tower of London.

A constable is a police officer in the United Kingdom and most countries with a British colonial history (now mostly members of the Commonwealth of Nations). This gives rise to the alternative name of Constabulary for the police force.

Modern usage

United Kingdom and the Commonwealth

In British law and similar legal systems, a constable has the legal powers of arrest given to him or her directly by a sworn oath and warrant, rather than being delegated powers that he or she has simply because of employment as a police officer. Technically this means that each sworn constable is an independent legal official rather than simply an agent of the police. It also means that all sworn police officers of all ranks in these countries legally are constables, since it is from this office that they derive their powers, although the term usually refers to a police officer who holds no rank.

Senior Constable can sometimes mean the head of the police force in an area, but this is not the case in the U.K. In Australia it generally refers to a police officer of the rank above constable.

Head Constable is the title for a police sergeant in some Commonwealth police forces. It was also the title of some British police force chiefs until police ranks were standardised.

For more information, see police or United Kingdom police.

Channel Islands

In Jersey and Guernsey, the elected heads of the Parishes are titled "constables" (connétables in French). The constables are entitled each to carry a silver-tipped baton of office.

In Jersey, each parish elects a constable for a three year mandate to run the parish and also represent the parish in the legislature, the States of Jersey. The constable presides over the Roads Committee, the Conseil Paroissial (except St. Helier) and Parish Assemblies. The twelve constables also collectively sit as the Comité des Connétables. The constable is the titular head of the Honorary Police. With the Roads Inspectors, Roads Committee and other officers, the constable of each parish also carries out the visites du branchage twice a year.

In Guernsey, each parish elects two constables, the senior constable and the junior constable. Persons elected generally serve a year as junior and then senior constable. The senior constable presides over the Douzaine that runs the parish. The constables are responsible for enforcing the brancage (summer hedge-cutting) and also have to power to declare any parishioner insane.

United States

In the United States, there is no consistent use of the term "constable" across the states, and use may vary even within a state. A constable may merely be an official responsible for service of process: such as summonses and subpoenas for people to appear in court in criminal and/or civil matters. Or, they may be fully empowered law enforcement officers. They may also have additional specialized duties unique to the office. In some states, a constable may be appointed by the judge of the court which he or she serves; in others the constable is an elected or appointed position at the village, precinct or township level of local government.

Historically, the office was the same as was in the United Kingdom and has existed since the colonial period. However, with the development of modern police forces in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, the common law powers of constable have often been altered or removed by statute. Whereas, in the U.K., constables were transformed by law into police services, in the US, state and local police services were created in addition to constables. Perhaps because of this, the title "constable" is not used for police of any rank. The lowest rank in a police organization would be officer, deputy, patrolman, trooper, and historically, private, depending on the particular organization.

A constable may be assisted by deputy constables as sworn officers or constable's officers as civil staff, usually as process servers. In some states, villages or towns, an office with similar duties is marshal.

Constables are most commonly called a "Cop", standing for "Constable On Patrol" or more likely a "Police Man or Police Woman, or simply by the term "Officer".

Alabama

Constables are elected by precinct.

Arizona and Arkansas

A constable is an elected officer of the county for the Justice of the Peace Court and must live in the precinct to which they are elected. They have similar powers and duties to sheriffs.

California

Although the position is still legally provided for in state law, the few constables that remained on duty in the late 20th c even in very remote regions of the state were in practice eventually absorbed into sheriff, marshal, or police agencies many years ago. Constables as such had full police powers and carried out occasional to frequent patrol work in addition to their paper serving duties, and were typically attached to the old municipal or justice courts, and were either elected by popular vote or appointed by the area's presiding judge.

Connecticut

There are two types of constables in Connecticut, appointed and elected. Appointed constables (special constables by statute) are criminal law enforcement officers hired by towns that don't have an organized police department.These constables work under a resident trooper and are fully certified police officers. Elected constables are civil process servers that are elected every two to four years by the town to serve all process directed to them within the town they are elected to.

Delaware

Delaware has had a unique law enforcement position entitled "Constable". Transplanted from England to Delaware in the early colonial period, the constable’s main responsibilities were keeping the peace and serving the courts. Under the Duke of York’s government the constable was elected from one of four overseers of the town or parish. He had the responsibility to pursue and apprehend offenders and bring them before the Justice of the Peace, whip or punish offenders by order of the court, take bail for a person arrested, help to settle estates, and keep proper accounts of fines collected. The constables and eight overseers made the tax assessments, and the constable also collected taxes. If taxes were not paid, the constable was to value the delinquent’s property and seize it until taxes were paid or the property sold. In addition, the constable and two overseers held the town courts. The laws of William Penn provide little information on the duties of the constables except that they served warrants, attended courts, and furnished lists of taxables in their hundreds for the tax assessors.

Legislation relating to constables does not appear in the Delaware Laws until 1770. This act required constables at the end of their terms to return the names of three freeholders to the Court of General Sessions, who then appointed one to serve the next year. The Clerk of the Peace certified the appointment and delivered it to the sheriff who then notified the person of his appointment. At least one constable was appointed for each hundred, and appointees had to be residents of the hundred in which they served. After 1832 the Levy Court of each county appointed the constables, although the Governor could also fill appointments if Levy Court was in recess.

Later in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with the establishment of the Delaware State Police and municipal police forces; constables were appointed for specific concerns, institutions, or companies. The constable had a number of duties, many of which continue today. He executed all orders, warrants, and other process directed by any Justice of the Peace; ensured that the peace of the State be kept; arrested all persons committing riot, murder, theft, or breach of the peace, and carried them before a Justice of the Peace; attended elections to ensure that the peace be kept; and enforced the laws of the State.

Today, there is a Board of Examiners consisting of the Superintendent of the Delaware State Police, the Director of the New Castle County Police, the Attorney General, a representative from the Chiefs of Police Council, and a representative from the American Society of Industrial Security is responsible for reviewing applications for constables and delivering a list of approved applicants to the Governor.

To meet the qualifications of a constable, an applicant is required to be at least twenty-one years of age, meet the same minimum standards established by the Delaware Council on Police Training for part-time police officers, and may be required to receive additional training as directed by the Board of Examiners. Constables may exercise the same powers as peace officers and law enforcement officers in order to protect life and property and preserve peace and good order.

Constables are commissioned by the State as law enforcement officers, with powers of arrest, and may be employed by private corporations, civic associations, or governmental entities. Constables are currently appointed to the Bayhealth Medical Center, Christiana Care Health Systems, Justice of the Peace Courts, and Wilmington College.

Another type of constable, the "Code Enforcement Constable", can be appointed by any county or municipal chief executive officer to enforce all ordinances pertaining to building, housing, sanitation, or public health codes.

Georgia

In Georgia, state law permits counties to establish constables as officers appointed by the Chief Magistrate Judge of the county's Magistrate Court, who serve at the pleasure of the Chief Magistrate.

The powers and duties of constables include: attending all regular sessions of Magistrate Court; collecting and paying money owed to the court; executing and returning all warrants, summonses, executions, and other processes directed to them by the magistrate court; and other duties. However, unlike police officers and sheriffs, constables can only make arrests with a warrant or at the direction of and in the presence of a judge.

Georgia code Title 15, Chapter 10, Sections 100 through 104 defines the roles, powers, and duties of constables.[1]

Kentucky

Constables in the Commonwealth of Kentucky are elected from each magistrate district in the state. In theory, constables have the same countywide police authority as the county sheriff. However, since judicial reform in the 1970's that stripped county magistrates of their judicial authority and eliminated Justice of the Peace courts (which the magistrates presided over) and municipal Police Courts, the actual authority of constables has been reduced. Security and paper service for the District Courts, which replaced the above mentioned courts, is provided by the sheriff's office of their particular county in the same manner as is provided for the long standing Circuit Courts. These services were traditionally provided by the constables in Justice of the Peace Courts.

In reality, the authority of constables in Kentucky varies from county to county. This authority is usually determined by either the County Judge/Executive and/or the county Fiscal Court (the county legislative authority). Some counties allow constables to patrol their county and act with full police authority. These counties often provide uniforms and patrol vehicles and sometimes even allow the constable to appoint deputy constables. Others give limited authority to their constables, such as assisting the sheriff with paper service or acting as school resource officers. In this situation, uniforms and vehicles may or may not be provided by the county. However, when a patrol car is not provided in these situations, the county will often allow the constable to display a blue light on their personal vehicle when acting in an official capacity. In addition, there are some counties in Kentucky where the constable is not allowed to act in the capacity of a peace officer. This includes making arrest or displaying a blue light on their vehicle.

When given the authority to act as a peace officer, constables and deputy constables, like municipal police, sheriffs and sheriff's deputies, must be trained through the Kentucky Department of Justice Law Enforement Training Center at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond or (if the constable/deputy is a former state trooper) the Kentucky State Police Academy in Frankfort.

Maine

Constables have all of the powers and duties of police officers once they have completed training required by the state.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

CONSTABLES Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 41, section 91-95.

Chapter 41: Section 91B. Appointments; qualifications; application; investigation

Section 91B. Constables shall not be appointed by mayors or selectmen under section ninety-one or ninety-one A except as hereinafter provided. A person desiring to be appointed as aforesaid shall make a written application therefor to the appointing authority stating his reasons for desiring such appointment and such information as may be reasonably required by said authority relative to his fitness for said office. Such application shall also contain a statement as to the moral character of the applicant signed by at least five reputable citizens of the city or town of his residence, one of whom shall be an attorney-at-law. The appointing authority shall also investigate the reputation and character of every applicant and his fitness for said office. The chief of police or other official having charge of the police shall upon request give the appointing authority all possible assistance in making such investigation. The office of constable shall be filled only by appointment of an applicant hereunder who is found by the appointing authority, after investigation as aforesaid, to be a person of good repute and character and qualified to hold said office.

Chapter 41: Section 91. Appointment and removal in cities

Section 91. In a city in which the city council accepts this section, or has accepted corresponding provisions of earlier laws, constables shall be appointed by the mayor for terms not exceeding three years. The mayor may, with the consent of the board of aldermen, remove a constable from office for gross misconduct.

Chapter 41: Section 91A. Appointment in towns

Section 91A. The selectmen in any town may from time to time appoint, for terms not exceeding three years, as many constables as they deem necessary.

Chapter 41: Section 94. Powers and duties

Section 94. Constables may serve the writs and processes described in section ninety-two and warrants and processes in criminal cases, although their town, parish, religious society or district is a party or interested. They shall have the powers of sheriffs to require aid in the execution of their duties. They shall take due notice of and prosecute all violations of law respecting the observance of the Lord’s day, profane swearing and gaming. They shall serve all warrants and other processes directed to them by the selectmen of their town for notifying town meetings or for other purposes. They may serve by copy, attested by them, demands, notices and citations, and their returns of service thereof shall be prima facie evidence; but this provision shall not exclude the service thereof by other persons.

Chapter 41: Section 93. Remedies on bond

Section 93. The town clerk shall note upon every bond given by a constable the time of filing. Any person injured by a breach of the condition thereof may, at his own expense, sue thereon in the name of the town, and the proceedings shall be the same as in an action by a creditor on an administrator’s bond. The writ shall be endorsed by him and, if he is not a resident of the commonwealth, it shall also be endorsed by a responsible resident thereof. If judgment is for the defendant, execution shall issue for costs against the endorser as if he were a plaintiff of record.

Chapter 41: Section 95. Territorial jurisdiction

Section 95. A constable, in the execution of a warrant or writ directed to him, may convey prisoners and property in his custody under such process beyond the limits of his town, either to the justice who issued it or to the jail or house of correction of his county. If a warrant is issued against a person for an alleged crime committed within any town, any constable thereof to whom the warrant is directed may apprehend him in any place in the commonwealth.

Michigan

Upon gaining statehood, constables continued to be appointed at the county level as had been done when Michigan was a territory. The Constitution of 1850, however, required that each township elect at least one but not more than four constables. With few exceptions cities also elected constables by ward. In addition to serving the justice courts of their county, "constables have always been peace officers ... in the territory of their constituents." However their role was vastly altered upon adoption of the Constitution of 1963 when their office was deleted as was the office of justice of the peace. They were not named as officers of the new District Court. And by the end of the 1970s their election was no longer statutorily mandated. COLES certification became required if they were to perform general peace officer duties. As of 2005 there are no elected city constables and less than 10% of Michigan's 1242 townships continue to elect constables.

Mississippi

In Mississippi, constables are law enforement officers elected from single-member districts in each county. Mississippi law provides for one constable per Justice Court district in the county, from a minimum of two such districts in counties with less than 35,001 people, to a maximum of five districts in counties with more than 150,000 people.

By law, constables keep and preserve the peace within the county; advise justice court judges or other officers of all riots, routs, unlawful assemblies, and violations of the penal laws; execute and return all processes directed to them by any county, chancery or circuit court (not just the Justice Courts); and attend the justices' courts of their districts.

All counties are required to provide their constables with at least two complete uniforms, some type of motor vehicle identification which clearly indicates that the motor vehicle is being used by a constable in his official capacity, and a blue flashing light for use on official duty. Other than standard fees for attending court, serving processes, etc., state law does not otherwise require counties to pay or otherwise compensate constables for their jobs.

Mississippi code Title 19 Chapter 19 defines the roles, powers, and duties of constables.[2]

Nevada

The constable is an elected peace officer. They are primarily process servers; the Nevada statutes define their responsibilities and fees.

New Jersey

A constable is considered a "peace officer" with very limited police authority. Their duties are mainly confined to the enforcement, and processing of civil law.

New York

Constables serve at the pleasure of the local towns and villages, usually in a civil aspect for the courts. However, constables are considered law enforcement officers under New York State law. Their powers can be limited by each jurisdiction.

Ohio

The appointment of constables is authorized by the Ohio Revised Code, which defines several roles for them. Constables serve as police officers of some small towns and townships, or as officers of some minor courts. A "special constable" may also be appointed by a municipal court judge for a renewable one-year term upon application by any three "freeholders" (landowners) of the county, who are then responsible for paying the special constable.

Duly-sworn Ohio constables are considered "peace officers" under Ohio law, as are sheriffs, municipal police officers, state park rangers, Highway Patrol officers, etc., and have full law-enforcement authority within their jurisdictions. With some exceptions, constables must post bonds and undergo police training. They are required to serve court papers when so ordered, and to apprehend and bring to justice any lawbreakers or fugitives, suppress riots or unlawful assemblies, enforce state law and generally keep the peace.

Pennsylvania

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the office of constable is mandated in the state constitution. All constables in Pennsylvania are elected Officers of the Court, as are all state court officers in the state system. Pennsylvania constables, although elected or appointed at the local government level, receive no government funding. Pennsylvania constables have a fee scale prepared by the state for services rendered. Although elected or appointed for a 6-year term, they are not considered employees of the Commonwealth or any government body. They must provide everything for their office at their own expense (including vehicle, all equipment, office rent, liability insurance, etc). Despite the lack of funding, Pennsylvania constables still possess the police power of arrest for any felony or breach of peace on view; similar to a citizens arrest. However, if a person is in a vehicle when they commit an offense, the constable in Pennsylvania cannot make a traffic stop, due to a Supreme Court decision (case law). The issue of pursuit is being pressed for review. New laws covering fees are being prepared as of early 2006. The vast majority of Pennsylvania's Constables only work as poll watchers during elections.

Tennessee

Constable is an elected position with full power of arrest and is a state peace officer. The Tennessee State Constitution was amended in 1978 so as not to require counties to have this office; prior to this point, it was mandatory to elect constables in each county. Subsequent stautory law has allowed its continuance in certain counties, with the stipulation that there be no more than half as many constables in a county as there are county commissioners in that county. Constables are elected to four year terms in August of the years coincident with presidential elections; unexpired terms are filled by special election, but such special election must be held coincidentally with another, scheduled election. In some counties, constable is a partisan office; in others all candidates run as independents.

Texas

Texas constables are elected officials, similar to a sheriff, who are responsible for providing services for their precinct justice of the peace, but also for his county, and the state district courts. They have full law enforcement authority throughout their respective counties and the state. Most constable offices have only one or two persons, but in the major metropolitan counties with four or more precincts, they may have over a hundred persons. Texas contains over 1,300 constable offices employing over 3,500 persons. The Texas constable is also listed as a unique independent local police agency on the United States Department of Justice's Uniform Crime Reports.

Vermont

Constables are generally elected by the town. They are charged with service of process; the destruction of unlicensed or dangerous dogs or wolf-hybrids, and of injured deer; removal of disorderly people from town meeting; collection of taxes, when no tax collector is elected; and other duties. Constables have full law enforcement authority unless the town votes to either remove the authority or require training before such authority is exercised. Cities and villages may also have constables. Their duties and method of selection are governed by the corporation's charter.

West Virginia

David F. Green of Davy, West Virginia was the last person to hold the elected office of Constable in West Virginia.

See also

• Policing in the United Kingdom
• Policing in the United States