Kentucky

Kentucky's 120 sheriffs are constitutional officers (Ky. Const. § 99), and no Kentucky county has a body with independent authority to investigate, review, or monitor the sheriff's conduct toward the public. Jefferson County (Louisville Metro) has a Deputy Sheriff Merit Board under KRS 70.260-273 — but that is an employment civil service body that hears disciplinary appeals from deputies; it has no public complaint intake or independent investigative authority.

Sheriff oversight

0/120 counties with a dedicated body 0 reports from those bodies

Other oversight

0 Civil Grand Jury reports 2 statewide oversight reports

Compare costs Compare Kentucky sheriff departments side by side

119 sheriffs named · of 120 counties

Population, budget, $ per resident, staffing, and jail capacity across all 120 counties.

Data from CA State Controller's Office and CA State Sheriffs' Association.

State context

Kentucky's 120 sheriffs are elected constitutional officers under Ky. Const. § 99, and no Kentucky county has established a body with independent authority to investigate, review, or monitor the sheriff's conduct toward the public. Jefferson County (Louisville Metro) has a Deputy Sheriff Merit Board under KRS 70.260-273, but that board hears employment disciplinary appeals from deputies; it has no public complaint intake and no independent investigative authority over the sheriff.

Ky. Const. § 99 also permits, but does not require, the General Assembly to consolidate the offices of sheriff and jailer in a given county, and the sheriff's general statutory duties sit in KRS Chapter 70, Sheriffs, Constables, and County Police Force, which also authorizes a county to stand up its own police force under KRS 70.540. Kentucky's only two consolidated city-county governments, Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government (merged 2003 under KRS Chapter 67C) and Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government (merged 1974), both kept a separately elected county sheriff outside the merger. In each, a separate police department (the Louisville Metro Police Department and the Lexington Police Department) holds general patrol duties, leaving the Jefferson and Fayette County Sheriff's Offices with court security, civil and criminal process, warrants, prisoner transport, and property-tax collection.

Counties

0 of 120 counties have a dedicated civilian sheriff oversight body. Highlighted rows have an established body. See methodology for scoring.

#	County	Status (date)	Started (date)	LE capability	Independence

No record found · 120 counties

Adair
Allen
Anderson
Ballard
Barren
Bath
Bell
Boone
Bourbon
Boyd
Boyle
Bracken
Breathitt
Breckinridge
Bullitt
Butler
Caldwell
Calloway
Campbell
Carlisle
Carroll
Carter
Casey
Christian
Clark
Clay
Clinton
Crittenden
Cumberland
Daviess
Edmonson
Elliott
Estill
Fayette
Fleming
Floyd
Franklin
Fulton
Gallatin
Garrard
Grant
Graves
Grayson
Green
Greenup
Hancock
Hardin
Harlan
Harrison
Hart
Henderson
Henry
Hickman
Hopkins
Jackson
Jefferson
Jessamine
Johnson
Kenton
Knott
Knox
Larue
Laurel
Lawrence
Lee
Leslie
Letcher
Lewis
Lincoln
Livingston
Logan
Lyon
Madison
Magoffin
Marion
Marshall
Martin
Mason
McCracken
McCreary
McLean
Meade
Menifee
Mercer
Metcalfe
Monroe
Montgomery
Morgan
Muhlenberg
Nelson
Nicholas
Ohio
Oldham
Owen
Owsley
Pendleton
Perry
Pike
Powell
Pulaski
Robertson
Rockcastle
Rowan
Russell
Scott
Shelby
Simpson
Spencer
Taylor
Todd
Trigg
Trimble
Union
Warren
Washington
Wayne
Webster
Whitley
Wolfe
Woodford