County Police are the police of a county in the United States and in the United Kingdom.
United States
In the United States, county police tend to exist only in metropolitan counties and have countywide jurisdiction. They usually operate separately from the county Sheriff. They fall into three broad categories:
- 1. Full service provides the full spectrum of police services to the entire county irrespective of local communities and may provide contractual security police services to special districts within the county.
- 2. Limited service provides services to unincorporated areas of the county and usually provide contractual security police services to special districts within the county.
- 3. Restricted service and or security police duties to county owned and operated facilities and parks. Some may also perform some road patrol on county built and maintained roads. Also County detectives maintained in the northeastern states by a county attorney's office fall within this category.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom the British Police are divided into regional forces based on counties and they all fall within the first category.