• Read notes to receive instructions from clients. (1)
• Read memos to obtain information on policies or procedures. (2)
• Read procedures' manuals to obtain information on how to serve summonses and escort prisoners. (3)
• Read legal documents, such as court orders and writs of execution, to enforce them according to the court's directions. (3)
• May read Sheriff's Occurrence Reports to learn how to handle unusual incidents requiring the use of force. (3)
• Read and cross-reference multiple legislative documents, such as the Criminal Code and the Police Act, to ensure that they are in conformance with them while performing duties such as seizing property or evicting tenants. (4)

• Read signage posted in court buildings and on roads and highways for directions. (1)
• May read court schedules to know when to escort witnesses and fee schedules to determine the costs of actions. (2)
• May view pictures of people in order to recognize them when serving papers and view pictures of goods in order to identify items that will be seized. (2)
• May interpret scale drawings, such as road maps to locate addresses. (2)
• Complete an extensive variety of forms to maintain records, such as affidavits of service, notices of seizure, receipts for prisoners' effects and expense sheets. (2)
• Read a variety of forms, such as arrest warrants, writs and juror certification forms, to process them. (3)
• May read floor plans to determine the number of locks that must be changed to secure a building. (3)

• May maintain a log of activities to refer to when completing legal forms at a later date. (1)
• Complete a wide variety of forms, such as notice of seizure and sale forms, to facilitate court-related business and maintain appropriate records. (2)
• May write letters to investigators, updating them on the status of a witness, or to lawyers, describing the condition of a vehicle that was seized. (2)
• May write reports to document all events and activities related to a case. These reports may be used at a later date if further legal action is taken. (3)
• May write a Sheriff's Occurrence Report to record the circumstances, sequence of events and actions taken with respect to unusual incidents, such as forcibly restraining a prisoner. (3)

• May collect money from debtors, in lieu of seizing property, to enforce court-ordered seizures. (1)
• May calculate expense claims, including mileage charges, and fees calculated as a percentage of the value of goods recovered. (3)

• Keep records of how many hours they spend on each kind of duty. (1)
• May prepare financial summaries of proceeds after the disposal of goods to detail the recoverable value. (2)

• Count and record the number of prisoners escorted daily, including the number of men, women and juveniles. (1)
• May measure the dimensions of an item to verify that it is the item referred to in a writ. (1)

• Estimate the distance that one person was from another when writing up a report of an incident in the court house. (1)
• May estimate the distance in kilometres to a property or location, using a road map. (1)
• May estimate the cost of locating properties and making seizures, considering factors such as the time involved and the chances that the debtor will flee with the assets. (3)

• Call out instructions when working with another officer or movers brought in to facilitate a seizure. (1)
• Communicate with co-workers and other officers to co-ordinate tasks, to share information on new events, cases or changes in procedures or to seek advice. (2)
• May interact with lawyers, law clerks, prisoners, witnesses and the general public in courts to facilitate court proceeding. (2)
• May interact with jury members to instruct them on court procedures, living arrangements and allowable expenses. (2)
• Speak to their supervisor regarding issues with witnesses or problems with a prisoner or courtroom. (2)
• May interact with prisoners or with accused to advise them on such matters as their rights, the reason for their arrest and where they are being taken. (2)
• May interact with the subjects of court orders to enforce court orders and serve writs, summonses and seizures of properties, explaining the legal procedures, consequences and respite time. (3)
• Use tact in explaining seizure procedures to a tenant while trying to be sympathetic. They may negotiate with an owner and tenant to find a compromise acceptable to both parties, avoiding seizing property if appropriate. (3)

• May be delayed on the road with a van load of prisoners due to heavy traffic. They deal with prisoners' anger, allowing the prisoners out to stretch or use the bathroom only if it is safe to do so. (1)
• May have an institution refuse to accept an inmate whom they have escorted because the paperwork is not correct. They try to find out who can provide the correct documents and, if this cannot be facilitated before nightfall, they arrange for accommodation at another prison. (2)
• May be required to serve summons to an individual who has been successful in avoiding them. They develop plans to serve the summons, considering the individual's lifestyle patterns, and select the approach with the best chance of success. (2)
• May deal with hostile behaviour from people being evicted from their homes. They attempt to prevent the confrontation from escalating by demonstrating sympathy while being forceful, calling the police if violence breaks out. (3)
• May interact with a debtor's lawyer attempting to stop the execution of a seizure. They debate the legalities of the writ, often verifying information with their own lawyer, to ensure that they are in conformance with the intent of the law. (3)

• Decide whether a certain type of case merits calling for police protection as a matter of course. (1)
• May decide what leads to follow when locating people to serve court orders. (2)
• May decide what constitutes "reasonable conduct" in the eyes of the law to establish the parameters of their authority, interpreting acts and regulations for guidance. (2)
• May decide which assets to seize, considering the value of various items and the impact of their removal on the debtor's ability to earn an income. (3)
• May decide whether to leave seized assets with a debtor or to remove them, considering the likelihood that the debtor will flee with the assets. (3)
• May decide if police backup is needed for an eviction, considering an individual's character and prior record, or whether to call in police support when transporting prisoners, pending the approval of their supervisor. (3)

Critical Thinking information was not collected for this profile.

Sheriffs and bailiffs establish their own daily work plans, considering the particular mix of cases in hand. Their work priorities are established with reference to the legal framework, which specifies time lines and procedures for various actions, and court schedules. They sequence their tasks for efficiency, responding to frequent disruptions, such as delays in locating a debtor, which necessitate a reprioritization of their work plan. Their work plans are closely linked to the schedules of provincial courts and prisons and to the activities of those who are being served court orders and writs or whose property is being seized. They co-ordinate with professionals, such as judges, lawyers and police officers, in performing their job tasks. (3)

• Remember the names and faces of judges and courtroom personnel.
• May remember incidents to record them in a daily journal or to provide testimony in court.

• May use phone books to locate and contact witnesses. (1)
• May read catalogues, automobile pricing guides and auction brochures to assess the value of items to be seized. (2)
• May network with informants and question people who are likely to know the individual named in a court document, such as employers and landlords, in order to track the person down. (3)
• May conduct research under the Personal Property Security Act, using on-line and CD ROM sources, to search for outstanding liens on cards, vehicle identification numbers, phone numbers and property title information. (3)
• Read laws, acts and regulations and may consult lawyers to stay abreast of changes and ensure that they are following the law in the performance of their duties. (3)

• They write letters to clients and write daily case reports. (2)
• They may review a prisoner's profile information. (2)
• They may prepare invoices to bill clients. (2)
• They may conduct on-line information searches to obtain information, such as property titles. (2)

Sheriffs and bailiffs mainly work independently, liaising with others, such as court officials, as necessary. They may work with a partner if the size of the job warrants it, such as when completing a large seizure spanning several stores.

Sheriffs and bailiffs have a need for ongoing learning to maintain current knowledge of the changing legislative framework governing their work and how various laws are being interpreted. This type of continuous learning is extremely important because they must perform their duties in conformance with the applicable laws and regulations. They may acquire this information through independent reading and by speaking with legal professionals, such as lawyers.