Tuesday night, the public got their first review of a new study on what would involved in transitioning the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office into a police department. The meeting held last night by county supervisors served as the official release of study conducted over the past year by the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
- Setting the stage: the debate has raged for years as to whether Loudoun County should transition away from their current sheriff’s office and move toward a police department model. Under current state law the county is required to have a sheriff’s department but could choose to add a police department while the sheriff’s office would continue to operate the county jail and court services.
- What the report found: the transition would cost Loudoun County an estimated $200-$300 million and would be a 10-year process.
- What Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman said: “It’s really an unnecessary thing … “We’re talking anywhere from $213 to almost $308 million over a 10 year period to actually have to create a police department and migrate the services over to a police department.” He also referenced the cities low crime rates as a reflection of his office’s exceptional work in the community. “This isn’t about service,” he said. “It isn’t about citizens. This is just about having power over a police chief rather than having a sheriff that answers directly to the citizens we serve.”
- What’s next: the study released to the public on Tuesday will be presented to the board on April 5th. A vote is not anticipated at that time, but a failure by the board to move forward with the issue would result in it being sent to the voters of Loudoun County via ballot measure.
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