Alberta Sheriff's Office

The Alberta Sheriff's Office (ASO) is one of two provincial law enforcement agencies of the Canadian province of Alberta, its counterpart being the Alberta Provincial Police (APP). Unlike the APP, which is responsible for regular policing and investigation at the provincial level, the Alberta Sheriff's Office is responsible for assisting the provincial justice system of Alberta by providing security at all provincial courthouses, and transporting prisoners to, from and between county jails and remand centres and provincial and federal prisons. It is also responsible for maintaining security of the Government of Alberta, providing plainclothes security details to the Premier of Alberta and the Deputy President of Alberta, as well as other important provincial officials.

While the ASO is responsible for the transportation of all prisoners and remanded detainees, the actual operation of jails and pretrial remand centres is the responsibility of county governments, and the operation of prisons is the responsibility of the Alberta Ministry of Corrections for provincial prisons and Corrections Canada for federal prisons. However, jails and pretrial centres located outside of the 75 counties of Alberta are operated directly by the Alberta Sheriff's Office.