Montgomery County Sheriff's Office

Established in July 1777, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office is the oldest law enforcement agency in Montgomery County, Maryland, and it works as the enforcement arm of the court system rather than as a patrol agency. Article IV, Section 44 of the Maryland Constitution, which sits in the Judiciary Department article, provides for an elected sheriff in each county serving a four-year term, and the office describes its sheriff as a state constitutional officer independent of the county's legislative and executive branches. Its mission covers duties unique to the sheriff under state and common law, carried out in cooperation with other agencies across the county and the Washington, D.C. region. A large part of that work is landlord-tenant enforcement: the office receives roughly 10,000 warrants of restitution and writs of possession from the courts each year, schedules evictions on weekdays only, and requires landlords to document a written notice to the tenant at least 14 days in advance. Deputies also conduct court-ordered sheriff's sales, and the office posts current impersonation-scam alerts, reminding residents that officers never ask for money or prepaid cards by phone.