History Of The Department

The City of St. Louis, since 1876, has had no less than 25 Sheriffs, with John Finn presiding over the office the year St. Louis city separated from the County of St. Louis. Records in the downtown St. Louis Mercantile Library reveal that of the 25 Sheriffs of our city, James W. Murphy was elected a record 6 times,  Martin L. Tozer was elected 5 times, and another Democrat, Joseph F. Dickmann, was chosen by voters 3 times.

The qualifications for Sheriff of St. Louis are identical to those credentials for President of the United States. The candidate must be 35 years of age, a natural-born citizen and a resident of the U.S. for at least 14 years. A Sheriff in the U.S. is one of the chief administrative officers of a county. It is the Sheriff's duty to take charge of prisoners, to oversee juries, and to prevent breaches of the peace. The Sheriff also carries out the judgments of the county court. In St. Louis, the Sheriff serves the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis.