Fauquier Sheriff’s Office earns state accreditation

By Jill Palermo, Times Staff Writer

It was a goal more than two years in the making, but Fauquier Sheriff Bob Mosier crossed it off his to-do list before the end of the year.

For the first time in county history, the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office is accredited by the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission, the state entity charged with setting standards and best practices for law-enforcement agencies across the state.

The distinction places the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office in the company of Virginia’s largest law-enforcement agencies as well as those in six of seven neighboring counties.

The department was inspected by VLEPSC officials in August. They checked the department’s files and operations against 190 standards in administration, operations, personnel and training.

The Fauquier deputies had to show proof of compliance with all of the standards. The office passed without a single variance, Mosier said in a recent interview.

The inspector spent about a week reviewing the department’s files, protocols and policies. The sheriff’s office had to show it meets the standards on everything from human resource practices to evidence processing and storage, said Sgt. James Hartman, sheriff’s office spokesman.

Sgt. James Hartman, of the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office, demonstrates procedures for handling evidence using lockers where items are passed to technicians for processing.

“You basically open up your files, your offices, how you handle items, everything,” said Hartman said. “They check everything you do.”

Mosier said state accreditation has been his goal since taking office in 2016. The process is about being “transparent and accountable,” he said, adding: “The public can be confident in what we do.”

Mosier credited the Fauquier County Board of Supervisors for supporting his efforts to lead the sheriff’s office through the accreditation process. Because the office had been working toward accreditation during the past few years, they built from that foundation, Mosier said.

The cost for completing the work was less than $2,000, which included the $250 application fee and about $1,400 spent on locks and security cameras, Mosier said.

Among tasks the sheriff’s office completed ahead of the accreditation inspection was cleaning out and reorganizing its evidence and property storage areas. Deputies removed items that were no longer needed and ensured everything was properly arranged and marked according to state rules, Hartman said.

There are now systems in place to maintain the new procedures. The department must keep records showing that various protocols are followed and reviewed on a regular basis. The department will be re-inspected in four years to renew its accreditation, Mosier said.

According to the VELPSC website, accredited agencies follow “an established set of professional standards and guidelines which measure performance in their service to the community, the criminal justice industry and their agency personnel.”

Reach Jill Palermo at jpalermo@ fauquier.com