§6-3-1. Appointment of deputies and
local conservators of the peace; powers and duties; compensation; vacating
appointment of deputy sheriff; removal of conservators.

 

(b) (1) Any resident or group of residents of any
unincorporated community, as hereinafter defined, may petition the sheriff for
the appointment of a local conservator of the peace and such sheriff, when in
his opinion the public interests require it, may with the assent of said county
court and the judge of the circuit court duly entered of record, either in term
or vacation of any such court, appoint any person or persons a local
conservator or conservators of the peace to perform the duties of a conservator
of the peace outside of any incorporated city, town or village style='background:yellow;mso-highlight:yellow'>. No person shall be appointed
such local conservator of the peace who has not been a bona fide resident and
taxpayer of the county for at least one year prior to his appointment.
Such local conservator of the peace during his continuance in class=GramE>office, may perform and discharge any of the official duties
of the sheriff, subject nevertheless to the provisions of this section. No
local conservator so appointed shall be subject to the direction or control of
any person other than his principal and he shall not perform any services or duties, either
private or public, except the duties required by law of conservators of
the peace pursuant to the provisions hereof, for any person, firm, or
corporation.

 

No local conservator shall be appointed except it be made to
appear to the satisfaction of the county court and the judge of the circuit
court that because of the lack of sufficient funds, geographical location of
the unincorporated community for which such conservator is to be appointed, or
other good reason, the sheriff and his regular deputies and the constables of
the county are not sufficient to afford proper local policing of such community
and that the person or
persons moving for the appointment of such local conservator have made
satisfactory arrangements to compensate him for his services as such local conservator
of the peace.

 

(6) Not more than one local conservator of the peace shall
be appointed, to perform the duties of conservator of the peace, for each two
thousand five hundred inhabitants of the county as ascertained by the last
regular decennial census after deducting the number of inhabitants of the
county residing in the incorporated cities, towns and villages in such county. style='background:yellow;mso-highlight:yellow'>Not more than one local
conservator shall be appointed for any unincorporated community unless the
population thereof exceed fifteen hundred people and in such case not more than
two conservators shall be appointed for such community.

(11) Such local conservator shall serve during the joint will and pleasure
of the sheriff and the county court and his appointment may be revoked by order
entered of record by the county court either with or without the assignment of
cause therefor.

A local conservator may be removed by the judge of the circuit court, either
in term or vacation, for drunkenness, gross immorality, incompetence, neglect
of duty, or other good cause,
upon the petition of three or more residents of the community for which he has
been appointed. The petition shall set forth the cause or causes for
which such removal is asked and shall show that demand for removal has been
made of the sheriff and the county court and that the sheriff and the county
court have failed to remove the local conservator. At least three copies of the
petition shall be filed, and upon the filing of the petition the judge shall
fix a time and place for a hearing thereon, which time shall not be less than
ten days after the filing of the petition, and shall cause a copy thereof to be
served upon the sheriff and such local conservator at least ten days before the
hearing thereon.