Lancaster County Sheriff's Office

The administrative functions of the sheriff's office is overseen generally by Chief Deputy Sheriff Major James E. Smith, and relies heavily on the work on Mrs. Aleena B. Ward, administrative assistant, and Mrs. Paula N. Smith, civil process clerk. Mrs. Ward prepares the monthly billing reports for the sheriff's field operations, communications, and jail operations, including uniforms, equipment, office supplies, jail food stocks, payroll, and recurring monthly charges for all aspects of the office.

Mrs. Paula Smith, a retired deputy sheriff, now works part-time logging all civil and criminal process for service; receives from and delivers legal documents to the courts; and maintains the jail inmate/canteen checking accounts.

Loosely aligned with the administrative division is the Deputy Charles Davis, accreditation manager for the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission.

Emergency 911 Dispatch handles all emergency phone calls and radio communications for Lancaster County and the Towns of Irvington, Kilmarnock, and White Stone. The communications operator assesses the emergency, decides what type of response is needed (police, fire department, or rescue squad) and dispatches the appropriate assistance immediately.

Upon receiving an emergency phone call, the communications officer uses the E911 integrated mapping system to identify the physical address location of the caller. E911 Dispatch is the liaison between the victim/complainant and the appropriate help. It is important that the dispatched team gets as much accurate information as necessary so that they may help the victim/complainant in the most effective manner.

Trained by the Rappahannock Regional Criminal Justice Academy, the communication operators handle calls for law enforcement, emergency medical and fire services dispatching, game and domestic animal calls, and calls from the hearing impaired. E911 Dispatch also enters information about wanted persons and property into the Virginia Criminal Information Network and the National Crime Information Center.

As of January 1, 2026 the communications staff is comprised of a communications director, two senior 911 communications officers and nine E911 communications officers.

The Corrections Division protects the community through full-time control and supervision of pretrial persons held pending bond and post-conviction persons who have an active sentence to serve. This division consists of one lieutenant, two sergeants, and seven deputies. The lieutenant is responsible for staff scheduling, inmate records, and the State Compensation Board online inmate reporting system to ensure that the county is properly reimbursed by the state for housing of prisoners. One sergeant serves as the Prison Rape Elimination Act coordinator; one sergeant serves as the general maintenance supervisor; both supervisor daily jail activities. A Registered Nurse works part time to oversee inmate medical issues, schedule medical appointments, conduct routine health screenings, and ensure prescription medications are current.

The corrections staff book prisoners into and out of the jail; transport inmates for medical appointments and transfers to other facilities; and perform general supervision of inmates within the jail setting. Random searches of facility and inmates and random exterior perimeter searches are conducted to ensure the safety and security of persons, the facility, and to prevent escapes.

Trained in all aspects of their job from the Rappahannock Regional Criminal Justice Training Academy, the deputies are all certified in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Each deputy receives re-certification training as mandated by the Department of Criminal Justice Services.

The jail is Unconditionally Certified by the Virginia Board of Corrections. This certification requires the facility to meet more than 200 separate standards related to jail operations. The certification is valid for three years; the latest state compliance audit was in 2024; the next audit is scheduled for the fall of 2027. Unannounced inspections for life, health and safety standards are conducted annually.

The jail kitchen staff prepare 75-90 meals each day, prepare the menus at least two weeks in advance, order the food and related kitchen supplies, and supervise inmates assigned to the kitchen. The kitchen operates under a restaurant license issued by the Virginia Department of Health. Thanks to the work of the two full-time and one part-time relief cooks, the jail kitchen has always received high ratings by state health inspectors.

Based on severity of crime, length of sentence, and attitude, inmates are selected to serve as trusties to work both inside and outside of the jail proper Such work includes assisting with meal preparation and clean up, laundry services, general janitorial duties, and lawn care. Such inmates may earn additional good time release credits in accordance with state law.

The court security division has the responsibility for safety of all persons within the court house and the immediate environs. This includes not only the judges and court staff, but prisoners and the general public as well. Court security staff arrives well before court convenes to conduct a search of the facility and to test certain devices. The goal is to ensure safety by examining anything out of the ordinary that may pose a potential threat (i.e., hidden weapons, items or materials within the perimeter that may have suffered tampering, blocked emergency exits, etc.). Searching within the court room, around the building and in the court house parking areas is all part of the normal procedure exercised on a regular basis by the court security staff.

Contingency plans are in place to address security concerns for "high profile" trials. These trials would include cases that generate a significant increase in media attention, and those that carry a significant risk to either party regardless of the outcome of the case. The court security staff handles prisoner transportation to and from the jail and the court house.

Court security deputies must be certified in either law enforcement or corrections operations and complete a 40 hour Court Security - Civil Process basic school. The number of part time deputies assigned on any specific day is determined by the type of cases scheduled for hearings. As a general rule, at least three part time court security deputies work on each court day, supplemented by uniformed patrol deputies who are subpoenaed to testify.
This divisions is staffed by one sergeant, and 6 court security deputies, all of whom work part-time.

The criminal investigations division, supervised by Lt. R.B. O'Bier, is staffed by three full time and one part-time detectives. The full time detectives handle all major crimes, with one each primarily responsible for covering property crimes, one covering sexual assaults, and one covering narcotics crimes. The part-time detective serves as the property and evidence officer, maintaining locked security and control of all criminal evidence, and who generally transports evidence to the Department of Forensic Science for laboratory examination and analysis. The detectives maintain an on-call schedule for 24/7 response to major incident crime scenes. The divisions most notable case in recent years was the 2015 No Body Homicide case of victim Claudine Gifford, resulting in James Todd Kessler being sentenced to 45 years in prison.
Each detective is a graduate of the Virginia Department of Forensic Science Academy, a six-month course for the collection, preservation, recording, and presentation of crime scene evidence for prosecution in court. Topics include photography, crime scene mapping, evidence collection, arson investigation, tools and tool marks, latent prints, hairs and fibers, firearms, ammunitions and casings, drug identification and physiological effects, and enhanced investigative techniques.
A part-time civilian staff member serves as the National Incident Based Report System records manager. This staff member reviews all incident reports to ensure successful validation for the mandatory monthly online report to the Virginia State Police/Federal Bureau of Investigations; prepares case files for the officers; and provides copies of incident/arrest reports to the Attorney for the Commonwealth for Lancaster County, and to the Lancaster County Victim-Witness Program director.

The Uniform Patrol Division is the most visible part of the sheriff’s office. Deputies answer calls for service throughout the 153 square miles of the county. Staffing includes one captain, one first sergeant, two sergeants, two School Resource Officers, and ten patrol deputies. These deputies are trained at the Rappahannock Regional Criminal Justice Academy and through other training providers. Their responsibilities range from assisting a motorist to traffic enforcement to responding to a major crime or local disaster. Other duties include the making of criminal arrests, serving civil process, and providing a presence of law & order wherever their duties take them. Uniformed patrol deputies take the initial crime incident reports. These reports are reviewed by the investigative lieutenant to determine how the case should be assigned for investigation.