The word 'Len' in Norwegian means 'shire'. King's (shire) reeves and local
reeves existed in Anglo-Saxon England.
The title Shire-reeve, later sheriff, has become redundant in England, but
it is still extant in Scotland, where the Sheriff's Court is a key element
in the Scottish judicial system, and in the USA the Sherriff is a well known
law enforcement figure.
The Norwegian 'Lensman' also started out as a 'shire-reeve' , the King's lawman, in a region like a Len (shire) during the Middle Ages.
Subordinate public official in rural districts. The lensman is a police Officer
under the chief of police and is thus a subordinate of the prosecuting authority;
he also has a number of other duties: he is the maintenance enforcement officer,
state tax collector and process server.