Sheriff

In principle, a sheriff is a legal official with responsibility for a "shire", i.e. county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country.

Active Denial System

The Active Denial System (ADS) is a non-lethal, directed-energy weapon developed by the U.S. military, designed for area denial, perimeter security and crowd control. Informally, the weapon is also called the heat ray since it works by heating the surface of targets, such as the skin of targeted human subjects. Raytheon is currently marketing a reduced-range version of this technology. The ADS was deployed in 2010 with the United States military in the Afghanistan War, but was withdrawn without seeing combat. On August 20, 2010, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department announced its intent to use this technology on prisoners in the Pitchess Detention Center in Los Angeles, stating its intent to use it in "operational evaluation" in situations such as breaking up prisoner fights. The ADS is currently only a vehicle-mounted weapon, though U.S. Marines and police are both working on portable versions. ADS was developed under the sponsorship of the DoD Non-Lethal Weapons Program with the Air Force Research Laboratory as the lead agency. There are reports that Russia and China are developing their own versions of the Active Denial System.

Sheriff principal

The office of sheriff principal is unique within the judicial structure of Scotland, and it cannot therefore readily be compared with any other judicial office. It is one of great antiquity, having existed continuously since around the 11th century. It has gradually developed over the centuries, and is still developing, into an office of some complexity and considerable weight.

The sheriff principal holds several other offices ex officio, including Sheriff of Chancery (disposes of petitions for rights of succession to land and intestate estates; see Chancery (Scotland)), Commissioner of Northern Lighthouses, General Commissioner of Income Tax, member of the Sheriff Court Rules Council, the Advisory Council on Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers, the Criminal Justice Forum, the Security Service Tribunal, the Intelligence Services Tribunal, and various other bodies.

Numbers and amalgamation

Until about the middle of the 19th century there were 30 sheriffs principal (or sheriffs, as they were then known). Of those sheriffs principal two (Glasgow and Edinburgh) were effectively full-time appointments while the remainder were part-time appointments filled by senior advocates; members of the Faculty of Advocates. Over the years there was a gradual amalgamation of sheriffdoms, with a consequential diminution in the number of sheriffs principal. The final amalgamation occurred in 1975 when Scotland was divided into six sheriffdoms, with each one presided over by a full-time sheriff principal. That remains the position at the present time.