VIDEO: The Job Duties Of A Constable

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI)-When we hear the term law enforcement officer, we typically think of a police officer or a sheriff’s deputy.

However, constables also play an important role in keeping the community safe.

For more than two decades, Sonny Sanders has served Lowndes County as the District 3 constable.

He loves his job and takes pride in protecting and serving the people of the county.

“What I like most about being a constable is just meeting people,” said Sanders. “I’ve gotten a chance to meet a lot of good people over the years and it’s just been a great experience.”

While he enjoys what he does, Sanders admits, there’s a lot of misconceptions that comes with his job.

“A lot of people think a constable is just kind of something like, maybe just somebody out there serving papers, but it’s more to being a constable than just serving papers,” he said.

Constables are elected officials.

They have various job duties they perform, like serving warrants, wage garnishments, subpoenas, and eviction notices, just to name a few.

They also have the right to carry a concealed weapon, write tickets, and can even make an arrest.

“We make arrests like warrants, old fines, and like if somebody maybe just got some old fines out there and we run across them, we will get them and bring them to jail,” said Sanders.

The law enforcement officers will also serve as a bailiff in the courtroom, and if someone has a warrant out for their arrest and gets caught in another town, constables are responsible for transporting that person back to their county jail.

“Just say if somebody here from Columbus get some citations and move to Tupelo or Meridian, and once they get caught in Meridian or Tupelo, they will call justice court and we will put a hold on them and they will send me to pick them up,” Sanders explained.

Though constables have a lot of duties they perform, Sanders said keeping the community safe is their top priority.

“We just serve the people, whatever we need to do we do it,” the District 3 Constable expressed.

Constables are one of the few agencies that have the authority to arrest a sitting sheriff, and are elected by voters every four years.