Minnesota

Minnesota sheriffs are statutory officers, elected countywide to four-year terms under Minn. Stat. § 382.01. The state's post-Floyd Minn. Stat. § 626.89 (amended 2023) authorizes, but does not mandate, local units of government including counties to establish civilian oversight councils with subpoena power. As of May 2026 neither Hennepin (Minneapolis-area) nor Ramsey (St. Paul-area) county has established such a council. Minneapolis's Community Commission on Police Oversight (CCPO) covers MPD, not the Hennepin County Sheriff.
Sheriff oversight
0/87 counties with a dedicated body 0 reports from those bodies
Other oversight
0 Civil Grand Jury reports 4 statewide oversight reports
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87 sheriffs named · of 87 counties
Population, budget, $ per resident, staffing, and jail capacity across all 87 counties.

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

State context

Minnesota sheriffs are statutory, not constitutional, officers. The state's post-Floyd Minn. Stat. § 626.89 (amended 2023) authorizes, but does not require, local units of government including counties to establish civilian oversight councils with subpoena power. As of May 2026 neither Hennepin (Minneapolis-area) nor Ramsey (St. Paul-area) county has established such a council. Minneapolis's Community Commission on Police Oversight (CCPO) covers the Minneapolis Police Department, not the Hennepin County Sheriff.

The office is created and made elective by statute, not the state constitution: each county elects a sheriff to a four-year term under Minn. Stat. 382.01, with peace-keeping, felony-apprehension, and court-process duties set out in Minn. Stat. ch. 387 (see § 387.03). Minn. Stat. 382.01 permits a county to make the sheriff's office appointive under chapter 375A instead of elected; no Minnesota county has been identified that has done so. Several Minnesota cities have dissolved their municipal police departments and contract with their county sheriff's office for police coverage, so some sheriff's offices serve as contract police providers for cities in addition to their countywide duties.

Counties

0 of 87 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 · 87 counties

  • Aitkin
  • Anoka
  • Becker
  • Beltrami
  • Benton
  • Big Stone
  • Blue Earth
  • Brown
  • Carlton
  • Carver
  • Cass
  • Chippewa
  • Chisago
  • Clay
  • Clearwater
  • Cook
  • Cottonwood
  • Crow Wing
  • Dakota
  • Dodge
  • Douglas
  • Faribault
  • Fillmore
  • Freeborn
  • Goodhue
  • Grant
  • Hennepin
  • Houston
  • Hubbard
  • Isanti
  • Itasca
  • Jackson
  • Kanabec
  • Kandiyohi
  • Kittson
  • Koochiching
  • Lac qui Parle
  • Lake
  • Lake of the Woods
  • Le Sueur
  • Lincoln
  • Lyon
  • Mahnomen
  • Marshall
  • Martin
  • McLeod
  • Meeker
  • Mille Lacs
  • Morrison
  • Mower
  • Murray
  • Nicollet
  • Nobles
  • Norman
  • Olmsted
  • Otter Tail
  • Pennington
  • Pine
  • Pipestone
  • Polk
  • Pope
  • Ramsey
  • Red Lake
  • Redwood
  • Renville
  • Rice
  • Rock
  • Roseau
  • Scott
  • Sherburne
  • Sibley
  • St. Louis
  • Stearns
  • Steele
  • Stevens
  • Swift
  • Todd
  • Traverse
  • Wabasha
  • Wadena
  • Waseca
  • Washington
  • Watonwan
  • Wilkin
  • Winona
  • Wright
  • Yellow Medicine