Sheriff
Regular Member
If a jurisdiction has a police department, then the sheriff's deputies do not have general arrest powers within that jurisdiction; otherwise, the sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer.
Can you define the word "general arrest powers" please? The City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County both have police departments and Sheriff's Offices. I can not think of one single offense where a sheriff's deputy doesn't have full arrest powers. If a sheriff's deputy clocks somebody at 65 mph in a 35 zone, he can write the person a summons. If a deputy witnesses somebody shoplifting, he can arrest the person. If a sheriff's deputy sees a man assault another out on Main Street, he can arrest the man. If a sheriff's deputy sees somebody concealing a weapon without a permit, he can arrest the person. And if a sheriff's deputy catches some guy raping, robbing or murdering somebody, the sheriff's deputy can arrest the person.