Loudoun County Sheriff's Office General Orders

[Anonymous]

A Loudoun County Police Department does not exist in Virginia. Instead, the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office enforces the state & local laws of Loudoun County.


If you ask Loudoun County's FOIA Officer to provide you with a full electronic copy of the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office General Orders (i.e. its policies & procedures), the response will be to pay about $2000 to get it.


The problem is that nearly all of the of the police departments in the DC Metro area distribute their General Orders online for free.

Fairfax County - https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police/chief/generalorders/gos
Prince William County - http://www.pwcgov.org/government/dept/police/pages/department-general-orders.aspx
City of Alexandria - https://www.alexandriava.gov/police/info/default.aspx?id=99100
City of Takoma Park - https://takomaparkmd.gov/government/police/department-policies-and-collective-bargaining-agreements/
City of Bowie - https://www.cityofbowie.org/2195/Policies
Chevy Chase - https://www.chevychasevillagemd.gov/330/Department-General-Orders
Gaithersburg - https://www.gaithersburgmd.gov/services/police-services/police-department-general-orders
Rockville - https://www.rockvillemd.gov/1962/General-Orders
City of Glenarden - https://cityofglenarden.org/government/departments/police/general-orders/
Montgomery County - https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/pol/resource/policies.html
Prince Georges County - https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/2620/Policy
Washington DC - https://mpdc.dc.gov/page/written-directives-general-orders



So if you think it is important for these law enforcement policies & procedures to be made available for free online, then please share your opinions with the Sheriff, County Administrator, & Board of Supervisors. Their email addresses are at https://sheriff.loudoun.gov/2364/Contact-Us



“Leadership, professionalism and accountability are critical components to law enforcement in serving our communities,” said Sheriff Chapman. He added, “We will do everything in our power at the LCSO to ensure public trust, transparency, and accountability to the citizens we serve.” https://www.loudoun.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=4450

[Anonymous]

So why not FOIA/Sunshine the document, pay the per-page duplication fee, and post the scanned version, or encourage a legal defense organization to do it?

[Anonymous]

A FOIA Fund is a good idea too.


Looks like the Sheriff's office recently closed out a Public corruption case.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/former-loudoun-county-sheriff-s-deputy-guilty-asset-forfeiture-embezzlement
https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/former-loudoun-county-sheriff-s-deputy-sentenced-prison

[Anonymous]

Get a news requester to request the document. News media don't pay FOIA fees.