{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/15.2-1726.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/15.2-1726.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/15.2-1726.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/15.2-1726.html"}],"law_id":80081,"edition_id":1,"section_id":80081,"structure_id":13878,"section_number":"15.2-1726","catch_line":"Agreements for consolidation of police departments or for cooperation in furnishing police services","history":"1970, c. 271, \u00a7 15.1-131.3; 1978, c. 9; 1984, c. 622; 1989, c. 294; 1994, c. 268; 1997, c. 587; 2008, c. 437; 2013, cc. 250, 472, 594, 775; 2014, c. 581.","full_text":"Any locality may, in its discretion, enter into a reciprocal agreement with any other locality, any agency of the federal government exercising police powers, the police of any public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth appointed pursuant to subsection B of \u00a7 23.1-812, the Division of Capitol Police, any private police department certified by the Department of Criminal Justice Services, or any combination of the foregoing, for such periods and under such conditions as the contracting parties deem advisable, for cooperation in the furnishing of police services. Such agreements may include designation of mutually agreed-upon boundary lines between contiguous localities for purposes of organizing 911 dispatch and response and clarifying issues related to coverage under workers’ compensation and risk management laws. Such agreements may also include provisions allowing for the loan of unmarked police vehicles. Such localities also may enter into an agreement for the cooperation in the furnishing of police services with the Department of State Police. The governing body of any locality also may, in its discretion, enter into a reciprocal agreement with any other locality, or combination thereof, for the consolidation of police departments or divisions or departments thereof. Subject to the conditions of the agreement, all police officers, officers, agents and other employees of such consolidated or cooperating police departments shall have the same powers, rights, benefits, privileges and immunities in every jurisdiction subscribing to such agreement, including the authority to make arrests in every such jurisdiction subscribing to the agreement; however, no police officer of any locality shall have authority to enforce federal laws unless specifically empowered to do so by statute, and no federal law-enforcement officer shall have authority to enforce the laws of the Commonwealth unless specifically empowered to do so by statute.\n\t\tThe governing body of a county also may enter into a tripartite contract with the governing body of any town, one or more, in such county and the sheriff for such county for the purpose of having the sheriff furnish law-enforcement services in the town. The contract shall be structured as a service contract and may have such other terms and conditions as the contracting parties deem advisable. The sheriff and any deputy sheriff serving as a town law-enforcement officer shall have authority to enforce such town’s ordinances. Likewise, subject to the conditions of the contract, the sheriff and deputy sheriffs while serving as a town’s law-enforcement officers shall have the same powers, rights, benefits, privileges and immunities as those of regular town police officers. The sheriff under any such contract shall be the town’s chief of police.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":286749,"text":"Any locality may, in its discretion, enter into a reciprocal agreement with any other locality, any agency of the federal government exercising police powers, the police of any public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth appointed pursuant to subsection B of \u00a7 23.1-812, the Division of Capitol Police, any private police department certified by the Department of Criminal Justice Services, or any combination of the foregoing, for such periods and under such conditions as the contracting parties deem advisable, for cooperation in the furnishing of police services. Such agreements may include designation of mutually agreed-upon boundary lines between contiguous localities for purposes of organizing 911 dispatch and response and clarifying issues related to coverage under workers’ compensation and risk management laws. Such agreements may also include provisions allowing for the loan of unmarked police vehicles. Such localities also may enter into an agreement for the cooperation in the furnishing of police services with the Department of State Police. The governing body of any locality also may, in its discretion, enter into a reciprocal agreement with any other locality, or combination thereof, for the consolidation of police departments or divisions or departments thereof. Subject to the conditions of the agreement, all police officers, officers, agents and other employees of such consolidated or cooperating police departments shall have the same powers, rights, benefits, privileges and immunities in every jurisdiction subscribing to such agreement, including the authority to make arrests in every such jurisdiction subscribing to the agreement; however, no police officer of any locality shall have authority to enforce federal laws unless specifically empowered to do so by statute, and no federal law-enforcement officer shall have authority to enforce the laws of the Commonwealth unless specifically empowered to do so by statute.\n\t\tThe governing body of a county also may enter into a tripartite contract with the governing body of any town, one or more, in such county and the sheriff for such county for the purpose of having the sheriff furnish law-enforcement services in the town. The contract shall be structured as a service contract and may have such other terms and conditions as the contracting parties deem advisable. The sheriff and any deputy sheriff serving as a town law-enforcement officer shall have authority to enforce such town’s ordinances. Likewise, subject to the conditions of the contract, the sheriff and deputy sheriffs while serving as a town’s law-enforcement officers shall have the same powers, rights, benefits, privileges and immunities as those of regular town police officers. The sheriff under any such contract shall be the town’s chief of police.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":13878,"edition_id":1,"name":"Interjurisdictional Law-Enforcement Authority and Agreements","identifier":"2","label":"article","depth":4,"order_by":1,"parent_id":13482,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:46:09","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:46:09","permalink":{"id":153891,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13878,"identifier":"2","token":"15.2\/II\/17\/2","url":"\/15.2\/II\/17\/2\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":13482,"edition_id":1,"name":"Police and Public Order","identifier":"17","label":"chapter","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12733,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:44:59","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:44:59","permalink":{"id":153747,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13482,"identifier":"17","token":"15.2\/II\/17","url":"\/15.2\/II\/17\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12733,"edition_id":1,"name":"Powers of Local Government","identifier":"II","label":"subtitle","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12720,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:50","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:50","permalink":{"id":152369,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12733,"identifier":"II","token":"15.2\/II","url":"\/15.2\/II\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12720,"edition_id":1,"name":"Counties, Cities and Towns","identifier":"15.2","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:49","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:49","permalink":{"id":151279,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12720,"identifier":"15.2","token":"15.2","url":"\/15.2\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":60256,"structure_id":13878,"section_number":"15.2-1724","catch_line":"Police and other officers may be sent beyond territorial limits","url":"\/15.2-1724\/","token":"15.2\/II\/17\/2\/15.2-1724","metadata":false},{"id":54907,"structure_id":13878,"section_number":"15.2-1725","catch_line":"Extending police power of localities over lands lying beyond boundaries thereof; jurisdiction of courts","url":"\/15.2-1725\/","token":"15.2\/II\/17\/2\/15.2-1725","metadata":false},{"id":59289,"structure_id":13878,"section_number":"15.2-1725.1","catch_line":"Concurrent jurisdiction; limitations","url":"\/15.2-1725.1\/","token":"15.2\/II\/17\/2\/15.2-1725.1","metadata":false},{"id":80081,"structure_id":13878,"section_number":"15.2-1726","catch_line":"Agreements for consolidation of police departments or for cooperation in furnishing police services","url":"\/15.2-1726\/","token":"15.2\/II\/17\/2\/15.2-1726","metadata":false},{"id":56465,"structure_id":13878,"section_number":"15.2-1727","catch_line":"Reciprocal agreements with localities outside the Commonwealth","url":"\/15.2-1727\/","token":"15.2\/II\/17\/2\/15.2-1727","metadata":false},{"id":55372,"structure_id":13878,"section_number":"15.2-1728","catch_line":"Mutual aid agreements between police departments and federal authorities","url":"\/15.2-1728\/","token":"15.2\/II\/17\/2\/15.2-1728","metadata":false},{"id":72809,"structure_id":13878,"section_number":"15.2-1729","catch_line":"Agreements for enforcement of state and county laws by federal officers on federal property","url":"\/15.2-1729\/","token":"15.2\/II\/17\/2\/15.2-1729","metadata":false},{"id":87390,"structure_id":13878,"section_number":"15.2-1730","catch_line":"Calling upon law-enforcement officers of counties, cities or towns for assistance","url":"\/15.2-1730\/","token":"15.2\/II\/17\/2\/15.2-1730","metadata":false},{"id":76213,"structure_id":13878,"section_number":"15.2-1730.1","catch_line":"Authority and immunity of sheriffs and deputies","url":"\/15.2-1730.1\/","token":"15.2\/II\/17\/2\/15.2-1730.1","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":59289,"structure_id":13878,"section_number":"15.2-1725.1","catch_line":"Concurrent jurisdiction; limitations","url":"\/15.2-1725.1\/","token":"15.2\/II\/17\/2\/15.2-1725.1","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":56465,"structure_id":13878,"section_number":"15.2-1727","catch_line":"Reciprocal agreements with localities outside the Commonwealth","url":"\/15.2-1727\/","token":"15.2\/II\/17\/2\/15.2-1727","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/15.2-1726\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 1970. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 271 of that year\u2019s edition of \u201cActs of Assembly,\u201d the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. Unfortunately, the 1970 \u201cActs\u201d aren\u2019t available online. It has been modified 8 times. Those modifications are cataloged by \u201cThe Acts of Assembly,\u201d a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly\u2019s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 1978, chapter 9; in 1984, chapter 622; in 1989, chapter 294; in 1994, chapter 268<\/a>; in 1997, chapter 587<\/a>; in 2008, chapter 437<\/a>; in 2013, chapters 250<\/a>, 472<\/a>, 594<\/a>, and 775<\/a>; in 2014, chapter 581<\/a>.<\/p>","references":[{"id":82997,"section_number":"15.2-1609.1","catch_line":"Number of deputies","order_by":null,"url":"\/15.2-1609.1\/"},{"id":68320,"section_number":"30-34.2:1","catch_line":"Powers, duties and functions of Capitol Police","order_by":null,"url":"\/30-34.2_1\/"},{"id":57595,"section_number":"9.1-165","catch_line":"Definitions","order_by":null,"url":"\/9.1-165\/"}],"refers_to":[{"id":74144,"section_number":"23.1-812","catch_line":"Appointment of campus police officers and members of an auxiliary police force","order_by":null,"url":"\/23.1-812\/"}],"permalink":{"id":153905,"object_type":"law","relational_id":80081,"identifier":"15.2-1726","token":"15.2\/II\/17\/2\/15.2-1726","url":"\/15.2-1726\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/15.2-1726\/","token":"15.2\/II\/17\/2\/15.2-1726","dublin_core":{"Title":"Agreements for consolidation of police departments or for cooperation in furnishing police services","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 15.2-1726","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Any locality<\/span> may, in its discretion, enter into a reciprocal agreement with any other locality<\/span>, any agency of the federal government exercising police powers, the police of any public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth appointed pursuant to subsection B of \u00a7 23.1-812<\/a>, the Division of Capitol Police, any private police department certified by the Department of Criminal Justice Services, or any combination of the foregoing, for such periods and under such conditions as the contracting parties deem advisable, for cooperation in the furnishing of police services. Such agreements may include designation of mutually agreed-upon boundary lines between contiguous localities for purposes of organizing 911 dispatch and response and clarifying issues<\/span> related to coverage under workers’ compensation and risk management laws<\/span>. Such agreements may also include provisions allowing for the loan of unmarked police vehicles. Such localities also may enter into an agreement for the cooperation in the furnishing of police services with the Department of State Police. The governing body<\/span> of any locality<\/span> also may, in its discretion, enter into a reciprocal agreement with any other locality<\/span>, or combination thereof, for the consolidation<\/span> of police departments or divisions or departments thereof. Subject to the conditions of the agreement, all police officers, officers, agents and other employees of such consolidated or cooperating police departments shall have the same powers, rights, benefits, privileges<\/span> and immunities in every jurisdiction<\/span> subscribing to such agreement, including the authority to make arrests<\/span> in every such jurisdiction<\/span> subscribing to the agreement; however, no police officer of any locality<\/span> shall have authority to enforce federal laws<\/span> unless specifically empowered to do so by statute<\/span>, and no federal law<\/span>-enforcement officer shall have authority to enforce the laws<\/span> of the Commonwealth unless specifically empowered to do so by statute<\/span>.\n\t\tThe governing body<\/span> of a county<\/span> also may enter into a tripartite contract<\/span> with the governing body<\/span> of any town<\/span>, one or more, in such county<\/span> and the sheriff for such county<\/span> for the purpose of having the sheriff furnish law<\/span>-enforcement services in the town<\/span>. The contract<\/span> shall be structured as a service contract<\/span> and may have such other terms and conditions as the contracting parties deem advisable. The sheriff and any deputy sheriff serving as a town<\/span> law<\/span>-enforcement officer shall have authority to enforce such town<\/span>’s ordinances<\/span>. Likewise, subject to the conditions of the contract<\/span>, the sheriff and deputy sheriffs while serving as a town<\/span>’s law<\/span>-enforcement officers shall have the same powers, rights, benefits, privileges<\/span> and immunities as those of regular town<\/span> police officers. The sheriff under any such contract<\/span> shall be the town<\/span>’s chief of police.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nAGREEMENTS FOR CONSOLIDATION OF POLICE DEPARTMENTS OR FOR COOPERATION IN\nFURNISHING POLICE SERVICES (\u00a7 15.2-1726)\n\nAny locality may, in its discretion, enter into a reciprocal agreement with any\nother locality, any agency of the federal government exercising police powers,\nthe police of any public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth\nappointed pursuant to subsection B of \u00a7 23.1-812, the Division of Capitol\nPolice, any private police department certified by the Department of Criminal\nJustice Services, or any combination of the foregoing, for such periods and\nunder such conditions as the contracting parties deem advisable, for cooperation\nin the furnishing of police services. Such agreements may include designation of\nmutually agreed-upon boundary lines between contiguous localities for purposes\nof organizing 911 dispatch and response and clarifying issues related to\ncoverage under workers’ compensation and risk management laws. Such\nagreements may also include provisions allowing for the loan of unmarked police\nvehicles. Such localities also may enter into an agreement for the cooperation\nin the furnishing of police services with the Department of State Police. The\ngoverning body of any locality also may, in its discretion, enter into a\nreciprocal agreement with any other locality, or combination thereof, for the\nconsolidation of police departments or divisions or departments thereof. Subject\nto the conditions of the agreement, all police officers, officers, agents and\nother employees of such consolidated or cooperating police departments shall\nhave the same powers, rights, benefits, privileges and immunities in every\njurisdiction subscribing to such agreement, including the authority to make\narrests in every such jurisdiction subscribing to the agreement; however, no\npolice officer of any locality shall have authority to enforce federal laws\nunless specifically empowered to do so by statute, and no federal\nlaw-enforcement officer shall have authority to enforce the laws of the\nCommonwealth unless specifically empowered to do so by statute.\n\t\tThe governing body of a county also may enter into a tripartite contract with\nthe governing body of any town, one or more, in such county and the sheriff for\nsuch county for the purpose of having the sheriff furnish law-enforcement\nservices in the town. The contract shall be structured as a service contract and\nmay have such other terms and conditions as the contracting parties deem\nadvisable. The sheriff and any deputy sheriff serving as a town law-enforcement\nofficer shall have authority to enforce such town’s ordinances. Likewise,\nsubject to the conditions of the contract, the sheriff and deputy sheriffs while\nserving as a town’s law-enforcement officers shall have the same powers,\nrights, benefits, privileges and immunities as those of regular town police\nofficers. The sheriff under any such contract shall be the town’s chief of\npolice.\n\nHISTORY: 1970, c. 271, \u00a7 15.1-131.3; 1978, c. 9; 1984, c. 622; 1989, c. 294;\n1994, c. 268; 1997, c. 587; 2008, c. 437; 2013, cc. 250, 472, 594, 775; 2014, c.\n581.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}