The two-wave survey was conducted in 15 Southern and Southwestern States during the spring and summer of 1978. A total of 642 sheriffs responded to the survey, giving a return rate of 48 percent. Because of the variation in return rate by States, results are presented by region rather than individual State. In composite, the rural sheriff is a politico with a certain amount of professional experience. Rural sheriffs are more likely than urban sheriffs to have been born in the county they presently serve. Seventeen percent of the sheriffs in sparsely populated rural areas consider themselves political liberals. The median tenure of rural sheriffs is half that of the more urban sheriffs. Rural sheriffs operate small departments, and only 3 percent run their own police academies. The necessity of operating a jail severely cuts into available manpower resources. Sheriffs tend to be optimistic about their departments' effectiveness, even though crime reporting rates and clearance rates appear not to support such optimism. Sheriffs rate high in conformity to traditional professional attitudes of law enforcement. The sheriffs overwhelmingly accept that their departments must be actively involved in the community beyond strict law enforcement activities. Tabular data, 21 references, and 4 notes are provided.