Tennessee

Tennessee abolished its two functioning civilian oversight boards (Nashville Community Oversight Board, Memphis Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board) by state law in 2023 (HB 0764 / SB 0591), replacing them with advisory committees that have no investigatory power. The law was enacted weeks after the release of Tyre Nichols body-camera footage. Neither body had covered the county sheriffs of Davidson or Shelby anyway. No Tennessee county has a body covering the sheriff.
Sheriff oversight
0/95 counties with a dedicated body 0 reports from those bodies
Other oversight
0 Civil Grand Jury reports 4 statewide oversight reports
Compare costs Compare Tennessee sheriff departments side by side
95 sheriffs named · of 95 counties
Population, budget, $ per resident, staffing, and jail capacity across all 95 counties.

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

State context

Tennessee's 95 counties each elect a sheriff as a county constitutional officer under the Tennessee Constitution, Article VII, Section 1, serving a four-year term; the office's statutory duties are set out in Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8, Chapter 8. No Tennessee county has an appointed or state-employee sheriff as a standing office.

One county departs from the general pattern. Under the consolidated Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, the elected Davidson County Sheriff's Office runs the county jail, serves civil process, and operates community programs, while the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, not the sheriff, handles patrol and 911 response countywide. Tennessee has two other consolidated city-county governments, Lynchburg-Moore County and Hartsville-Trousdale County, but their sheriffs remain full-service offices that include patrol; the restricted duty set is unique to Davidson County. No Tennessee county has established a civilian body with authority over its sheriff's office.

Counties

0 of 95 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 · 95 counties

  • Anderson
  • Bedford
  • Benton
  • Bledsoe
  • Blount
  • Bradley
  • Campbell
  • Cannon
  • Carroll
  • Carter
  • Cheatham
  • Chester
  • Claiborne
  • Clay
  • Cocke
  • Coffee
  • Crockett
  • Cumberland
  • Davidson
  • DeKalb
  • Decatur
  • Dickson
  • Dyer
  • Fayette
  • Fentress
  • Franklin
  • Gibson
  • Giles
  • Grainger
  • Greene
  • Grundy
  • Hamblen
  • Hamilton
  • Hancock
  • Hardeman
  • Hardin
  • Hawkins
  • Haywood
  • Henderson
  • Henry
  • Hickman
  • Houston
  • Humphreys
  • Jackson
  • Jefferson
  • Johnson
  • Knox
  • Lake
  • Lauderdale
  • Lawrence
  • Lewis
  • Lincoln
  • Loudon
  • Macon
  • Madison
  • Marion
  • Marshall
  • Maury
  • McMinn
  • McNairy
  • Meigs
  • Monroe
  • Montgomery
  • Moore
  • Morgan
  • Obion
  • Overton
  • Perry
  • Pickett
  • Polk
  • Putnam
  • Rhea
  • Roane
  • Robertson
  • Rutherford
  • Scott
  • Sequatchie
  • Sevier
  • Shelby
  • Smith
  • Stewart
  • Sullivan
  • Sumner
  • Tipton
  • Trousdale
  • Unicoi
  • Union
  • Van Buren
  • Warren
  • Washington
  • Wayne
  • Weakley
  • White
  • Williamson
  • Wilson