The Sheriff is a Constitutional Officer of the Commonwealth of Virginia and is elected by the citizens of Northampton County to serve as their chief law enforcement officer. To discharge this duty, he is empowered by the Code of Virginia to appoint deputies and civilian staff to affect his charges. The Sheriff's Office is comprised of law enforcement and the Eastern Shore Regional Jail. The law enforcement division, as described here, is the single largest unit in the Sheriff's Office. The role of law enforcement is varied and covers a broad spectrum of activities. Typical tasks include preventive patrol, responding to calls for service, detection and arrest of suspected offenders, traffic management and traffic safety, criminal investigations, reducing drug related crimes, and serving of civil process. The civil process portion includes delivery of all warrants, subpoenas, summons, bills of complaint, detinue actions, levies and other such notices.
The Sheriff's Office dispatches for all of the county deputies, the Town of Exmore and the Town of Cape Charles. They also relay calls to Virginia Marine Resource Officers, Game Wardens, Animal Wardens, and State Park.
GOALS
- Support the citizens in the pursuit of their freedoms, rights and privileges as guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and the Constitution of the United States by enforcing the law, codes and statutes of the United States, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the County of Northampton.
- Use whatever resources are available in as fiscally prudent a manner as possible to provide for the areas of responsibility of the Sheriff's Office.
Application for Secondary Employment (PDF Form)
The Northampton County Sheriff's Office allows employees who are sworn deputy sheriff's to work in a Secondary Employment capacity in accordance with Sheriff Office policies, state and local laws. Beginning September 13, 2016, law enforcement services provided by Northampton County Deputies will be coordinated through the Northampton County Sheriff's Office utilizing a Secondary Employment Agreement.
Portal Access to Community Policing Reporting Database
Effective July 1, 2020, the Virginia Department of State Police, Uniform Crime Reporting Unit began the collection of investigatory stop data based on the creation of the Community Policing Act. Updates to the original legislation were made per Chapter 37 of the 2020 Special Session I. The following code section includes all data collected and additions to the Community Policing Act effective July 1, 2021. Data from July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021 include only those persons stopped while driving. Data from July 1, 2021 and on will contain all persons subject to an investigatory (nonconsensual) stop.
Scam Alert!
Scammers are reportedly making phone calls to locals claiming to be Northampton Sheriff David Doughty and asking for money or personal information.
Sheriff Doughty urges residents to be cautious with phone calls of people asking for money or personal information. If you believe you’ve been a victim, contact Northampton County Sheriff’s Office at 757-678-0458.