Arlington County is served by both a police department and a sheriff’s office. The police serve as the county’s primary law enforcement officers, while the sheriff runs the county detention center and security in county courts.
Before the birth of what is now the Arlington County Police Department in 1940, a “Complement of Conservators of the Peace” enforced the law in Arlington.
On Feb. 1, 1940, the County Board universally adopted a proposal creating the Arlington County Division of Police. Harry Woodward, a deputy sheriff, became the county’s first chief of police.
The department has seen only six chiefs since Woodward, including current chief Douglas Scott, who has appointed chief earlier this year.
Police service in Arlington is divided into four districts, roughly split between the north, central, southwest and southeast sections of the county.
District One, in the north of the county, stretches from the Fairfax County border to the Potomac River. District Two encompasses the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. District Three is in the southwest side of the county, while District Four is in the southeast, the area around the Pentagon and Arlington Cemetery.
<sh>Police Department
<lst>Chief: Douglas Scott
Central Offices:
1425 N. Courthouse Road
Arlington, VA 22201
Emergency Phone: 911
Phone: 703-228-4040
Fax: 703-228-4127
Web site: www.co.arlington.va.us/police
Email: police@co.arlington.va.us
District One:
Commander Capt. Tonya Woodson
Phone: 703-228-4130
District Two:
Commander Capt. Mary Gavin
Phone: 703-228-4150
District Three:
Commander Capt. David Herbstreit
Phone: 703-228-3356
District Four:
Commander Capt. Terry Murray (Acting)
Phone: 703-228-4140
<sh>Sheriff’s Office
<lst>Sheriff: Beth Arthur
Offices:
1425 N. Courthouse Road
Arlington, VA 22201
Phone: 703-228-4460
Web site: www.co.arlington.va.us/sher
<bt>LIKE THE POLICE department, the Arlington County Fire Department was also formed in 1940. Before that, the county had been served by volunteer firefighting companies since about 1900, with the Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department leading the way.
Early companies were not very well-equipped, though; when Cherrydale firefighters responded to an alarm, they took one short ladder and 10 leather buckets, carried on foot.
Those departments were funded with what they could raise in the community, but gradually turned to the county for funding. Finally, in 1940, Arlington hired its first paid firefighters, at the starting salary of $100 per month.
In the last 62 years, the county opened 10 fire stations, and gradually volunteer departments were replaced with county-built firehouses. The Cherrydale Fire Station, No. 3 at 3900 Lee Highway, is the last volunteer-owned firehouse.
The Arlington fire department is also in charge of the county’s EMS service, with firefighters receiving extra training to serve as full-time EMTs. Emergency services began in the 1930s when the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department obtained a 1935 Buick ambulance that served the whole county.
The department's paramedic service began in the 1970s and has continued to grow over the years. Today emergency medical calls outnumber fire alarms, about two to one.
<sh>Fire Department
<lst>Chief: James H. Schwartz
Central Offices:
Fire Prevention Division
1020 N. Hudson St.
Arlington, VA 22202
Phone: 703-228-3362
E-mail: ljones@arlingtonva.us
Open weekdays, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Web site: www.co.arlington.va.us/fire
Station 1 – Glebe Road
555 S. Glebe Road
703-228-0101
Station 2 – Ballston
4805 Wilson Blvd.
703-228-0102
Station 3 – Cherrydale
3900 Lee Highway
703-228-0103
Station 4 – Clarendon
3121 N. 10th St.
703-228-0104
Station 5 – Jefferson/Aurora Highlands
1750 S. Hayes St.
703-228-0105
Station 6 – Falls Church
6950 Little Falls Road
703-228-0106
Station 7 – Fairlington
3116 S. Abingdon St.
703-228-0107
Station 8 – Lee Highway
4845 Lee Highway
703-228-0108
Station 9 – Walter Reed
1900 S. Walter Reed Drive
703-228-0109
Station 10 – Rosslyn
1559 Wilson Blvd.
703-228-0110
<sh>Arlington Courts
<bt>The court system is made up of district and circuit courts. The district court deals with misdemeanors, warrants, civil cases and traffic violations. The circuit court system handles felonies and appeals of district court cases.
<lst>General District Court
Chief Judge: Richard J. McCue
1425 N. Courthouse Road, Suite 2500
Arlington, VA 22201
Criminal Cases
Phone: 703-228-4405
Civil Claims
Phone: 703-228-4590
Traffic Violations
Phone: 703-228-4485
Web site: www.co.arlington.va.us/courts
Circuit Court
Clerk’s Office
1425 N. Courthouse Road
Civil Cases
Phone: 703-228-7010
Criminal Cases
Phone: 703-228-4399
Marriage Licenses
Phone: 703-228-4372
Web site: www.co.arlington.va.us/courts