Get to Know the Washington County Sheriff's Office

The Washington County Virginia Sheriff’s Office was established in 1776 and has grown to its current staff of 95 full and part time employees in order to keep up with the county’s increasing population. I was elected and assumed the office in January 2000. I have over twenty years of law enforcement experience, having served as a sergeant with the Chilhowie Police Department, Senior Trooper with the Virginia State Police and as Patrol Captain with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. I have an Associate Degree in Education, a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice and fifteen hours toward a Masters Degree in Criminal Justice.

This brochure will identify the various divisions within the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and their purpose. Please take time to review this brochure and read our mission statement. Should you have any questions or concerns please contact me at (276) 676-6000.

“The men and women of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office are committed to serving the citizens of our county in a fair, honest and professional manner. My goal as your sheriff is to provide the best law enforcement possible to the citizens of our county”

This division consists of the Chief Deputy, Division Captains and the Communications Supervisor. Their role is to handle the day-to-day operations of the Sheriff’s Office. Each of these members is heavily counted on to assist the Sheriff in the overall decision-making responsibilities. The Office Manager and an invaluable group of office assistants who provide administrative support for all divisions of the Sheriff’s Office support the administrative staff. The Grant Administrator & Information Systems Manager are also assigned to the Administrative Division.

The Patrol Division consists of Sheriff’s Office personnel that are most often seen by our county residents. They are your front line of defense against crime. The primary goal of the Patrol Division, through patrol and other proactive law enforcement methods, is to develop and maintain a safe and orderly environment for the citizens of Washington County. Our Traffic Enforcement Officer is also assigned to this division. His primary responsibility is the enforcement of county decal, vehicle registration, speeding and other traffic related offenses. Personnel who are assigned to this division also handle our Neighborhood Watch Program.

Detectives play an important role within our Sheriff’s Office. They respond to major crime scenes, investigate serious felony cases and assist the Patrol Division with other investigations. The Detectives have specialized training in areas of forensic science, evidence collection, interrogation and interviewing techniques. Our Narcotics Investigative Unit and Domestic Violence Deputy are assigned to the (CID) Criminal Investigations Division.

An integral section within the Washington County Sheriff’s Office is comprised of Courtroom Security, Civil Process, and the Criminal Warrants Division. Courtroom security personnel provide security for court judges, court staff, and the thousands of citizens who utilize our courthouse each year. The Civil Process Unit is responsible for serving the subpoenas, civil warrants, levies, and writs that pass through their office. The newly formed Criminal Warrant Service Division is responsible for serving the thousands of criminal warrants that are issued each year.

The Communications Division of the Sheriff’s Office provides the vital link between our county citizens and police, fire and rescue. Our Communications Officers handle all incoming telephone calls including 911 emergency calls. These calls are then dispatched to law enforcement personnel from the Sheriff’s Office, Towns of Abingdon, Glade Spring and Damascus and county fire and rescue personnel. The Communication Division also provides some communications support for the Virginia State Police and Game and Inland Fisheries. In 2005, the Communications Division received and dispatched over 37,095 calls.

The Dare and School Resource Officers are in our county schools on a daily basis. The D.A.R.E. officers teach Drug Abuse Resistance Education classes to elementary and high school students in our fifteen county schools. The School Resource Officer program is a cooperative effort between education, law enforcement and the community. The program promotes positive and effective communication between youth, teachers and law enforcement. Most of our school resource officers are cross-trained to teach in the D.A.R.E. program. The primary goal of the school resource officer is to ensure the safety of our students, faculty and other school personnel. The Tobacco Prevention Officer teaches our 6th grade students the hazards of using tobacco products.

This division is comprised of the Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team (SERT), the Underwater Recovery Team (URT), the Mounted Patrol, Bike Patrol, K-9 Units and the Honor Guard. Men and women from within the Sheriff’s Office support the Special Operations Division. This Division requires a tremendous amount of dedication, as intensive and strenuous training is often required from those involved. All of the personnel who make up the Special Operations Division are very dedicated to their respective sections and perform a very valuable service to our county citizens.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office is committed to providing the highest level of community-oriented public safety services and protection to all peoples of the County. The Office will progressively strive to be proactive in crime prevention; to fairly and impartially enforce the Statutes of the Commonwealth and the Ordinances of the County; to be continually-interactive with all segments of our population; and to maintain irreproachable integrity and ethics of professional conduct by all personnel-both on and off duty.

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