MANASSAS, Va. -- They've been providing law enforcement services for Prince William County since 1731, yet many have no idea who they are.
For nearly three centuries, deputies with the Prince William County Sheriff's Office provided primary law enforcement, bailiff and jailing services for the county. But in 1970, they relinquished day-to-day law enforcement with the formation of the Prince William police department. And in 1985, the Prince William-Manassas regional jail went privatized, removing that duty as well.
So what do deputies do?
Nowadays, the office's primary duties include providing security for the county courthouse, serving civil papers and evictions, and transporting prisoners, among others, for residents of Prince William, Manassas and Manassas Park, said Prince William County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy John Collier.
But the department's role can be confusing. Especially since the sheriff's offices in surrounding Stafford, Fauquier and Loudoun remain primary law enforcement agencies in those jurisdictions.
According to deputies, residents who travel through or live in these areas might be confused while visiting a county like Prince William, which has a split-agency setup, or vice-versa. Collier said that some residents call the sheriff's office expecting police service.
"We don't tell them they are wrong-we refer them to police," he said. Other Virginia counties, including Fairfax and Arlington, as well as some independent cities like Falls Church and Alexandria, also have both a police and sheriff's department.
Collier, a 28-year veteran of the Prince William police department who joined the sheriff's office in 2003, said the 1970 split resulted from a growing county population.
His agency also serves Manassas and Manassas Park, despite only having "Prince William" in the office's name.
Sheriff's deputy T. C. Williams said there also seems to be a disconnect between the assumed and actual powers of his office. "You'd be surprised at the amount of people who believe the Sheriff's Office has no [law enforcement] power," Williams said.
"People just don't know."
Collier, who is second in command under Sheriff Glendell Hill, said deputies perform a couple hundred traffic arrests a year.
Williams said it is common to be flagged down by residents requiring police service, such as when he happens to be first on the scene of a car crash.
Even though Williams forwards the case to police, he said he does everything he can while there to calm victims and preserve safety.
A regular day for deputies is also different, according to Williams, who was previously an officer in the Prince William and Front Royal police departments. Instead of being dispatched to domestic disputes, burglaries and other crimes, Williams starts his day with a stack of folders. In them is information about people wanted for various civil offenses, such as failure to pay child support.
He, and other deputies, research the cases and try to find the offenders to either serve them with civil process, or, depending on severity, arrange a capture, Williams said. He has gone as far as California, Texas and Missouri to track down wanted people, and has either helped, or personally captured, wanted persons who owed over $323,000 combined in back child support this year, according to department statistics.
According to Collier, his agency works in concert with the three regional police agencies.
"We serve 100 percent of their clientele [of those charged or cited,]" Collier said. "Cooperation is the only way to go."
Copyright 2011 - News & Messenger, Manassas, Va.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
