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Virginia Sheriffs’ Association
The Voice of Virginia’s Sheriffs & Deputies

The Virginia Sheriffs’ Accounting Manual by the Auditor of Public Accounts

The Sheriff is a public official, who is essentially always “on-duty.” Therefore, any funds the Sheriff handles carry the presumption that they are public funds. Further, any money coming into the Sheriff’s custody, other than a paycheck or personal funds, carries with it the overriding assumption that the Sheriff is the fiduciary custodian and is holding the money for someone else.

This manual recommends and provides guidance on the accounting procedures for funds collected by Sheriffs throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. Sheriffs should remember that regardless of their offices’ size or activity level, they are responsible for having sufficient controls and procedures in place to satisfy statutory requirements and prevent fraud, misuse, or loss of funds and assets. These accounting procedures should serve as a guide for developing individual facility accounting systems.

Sheriff Manual

Virginia Sheriffs’ Association Crime Report

Each year the Virginia Sheriffs’ Association uses the Crime Report submitted by various law enforcement agencies to the Virginia Department of State Police and develops a report which reflects the number of arrests by each locality and the various sheriffs’ offices. Attached is the latest information available for arrests by law enforcement agencies in Virginia for serious and less serious crimes as reported to the Virginia State Police.

2020 Crime Report
2021 Crime Report
2022 Crime Report

Law Enforcement Activities in Virginia’s Primary and Non-Primary Sheriff’s Office

In an effort to better understand Virginia’s sheriff’s offices as critical components of law enforcement efforts across the Commonwealth, the purpose of this Report is to highlight the day-to-day law enforcement activities of Primary and Non-Primary LEA sheriff’s offices. This report was prepared by Blythe Alison Bowman Balestrieri, PH.D., Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, Virginia Commonwealth University.

VSA 2019 FINAL REPORT law enforcement activities in Virginia Sheriffs’ Offices