Wis. Stat. § 59.27 — WI Code / Chapter 59 / Section 59.27
Sheriff; duties.
Status: in_force

The sheriff of a county shall do all of the following:

(1) Take the charge and custody of the jail maintained by the county and the persons in the jail, and keep the persons in the jail personally or by a deputy or jailer.

(2) Keep a true and exact register of all prisoners committed to any jail under the sheriff’s charge, in a book for that purpose, which shall contain the names of all persons who are committed to any such jail, their residence, the time when committed and cause of commitment, and the authority by which they were committed; and if for a criminal offense, a description of the person; and when any prisoner is liberated, state the time when and the authority by which the prisoner was liberated; and if any person escapes, state the particulars of the time and manner of such escape.

(3) Attend upon the circuit court held in the sheriff’s county during its session, and at the request of the court file with the clerk thereof a list of deputies for attendance on the court. The court may by special order authorize additional deputies to attend when the court is engaged in the trial of any person charged with a crime. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the board shall establish the rate of compensation and the level of services to be provided. The sheriff or one or more deputies shall attend the court of appeals when it is in session in the sheriff’s county. The state shall reimburse the county from the appropriation under s. 20.660 (1) for the actual salary paid to the sheriff or deputies for the service provided for the court of appeals.

(4) Personally, or by the undersheriff or deputies, serve or execute all processes, writs, precepts and orders issued or made by lawful authority and delivered to the sheriff.

(5) Deliver on demand to the sheriff’s successor in office, when the sheriff’s successor has qualified according to law, the jail and other property of the county and all prisoners in the jail, and all books, records, writs, processes, orders and other papers belonging to the sheriff’s office and in the possession of the sheriff, undersheriff, jailer or deputies, except as provided in s. 59.33 , and upon the delivery of these items the successor in office shall execute a receipt to the sheriff therefor.

(6) In counties having a population of 300,000 or more, assign one deputy, to be mutually agreed upon by the sheriff and the district attorney, to the office of the district attorney.

(7) Perform all other duties required of the sheriff by law.

(8) The sheriff is authorized to destroy all sheriff’s dockets, daily jail records and cash books dated prior to 1901. It shall be the duty of the sheriff to retain and safely keep all such records for a period of 8 years, or a shorter period authorized by the public records board under s. 16.61 (3) (b) , after which the records may be destroyed.

(9) When the sheriff is required to serve or execute a summons, order, or judgment, or to do any other act, the sheriff shall be bound to do so in the manner as upon process issued to the sheriff, and shall be equally liable in all respects for neglect of duty; and if the sheriff is a party the clerk shall perform the service and all statutes relating to sheriffs shall apply to clerks where the sheriff is a party.

(10) To enforce in the county all general orders of the department of safety and professional services relating to the sale, transportation and storage of explosives.

(11) Conduct operations within the county and, when the board so provides, in waters of which the county has jurisdiction under s. 2.04 for the rescue of human beings and for the recovery of human bodies.

(12) Before conducting a sale of foreclosed property, contact the clerk of the federal bankruptcy court to determine whether the court has granted a stay of relief on that property.

(13) Enforce all city, or village, ordinances in a city, or village, in which the sheriff provides law enforcement services under a contract described under s. 62.13 (2s) (a) .

History: 1973 c. 157 ; 1977 c. 203 , 418 , 449 ; 1989 a. 248 ; 1991 a. 316 ; 1995 a. 27 ss. 3288 , 3289 , 9116 (5) ; 1995 a. 201 ss. 276 to 281 ; Stats. 1995 s. 59.27; 1995 a. 225 s. 156 ; 1997 a. 27 , 35 ; 2005 a. 40 ; 2011 a. 32 ; 2025 a. 196 .