{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/27-60.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/27-60.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/27-60.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/27-60.html"}],"law_id":61418,"edition_id":1,"section_id":61418,"structure_id":15306,"section_number":"27-60","catch_line":"Department to conduct investigations in certain cases; investigations may be private","history":"Code 1919, \u00a7 4189; 1977, c. 613.","full_text":"The Department may petition an appropriate judicial officer to summons and compel the attendance of witnesses to testify in relation to any matter which is, by the provisions of this chapter, a subject of inquiry and investigation. It may also administer oaths and affirmations to such witnesses, and false swearing in any such matter shall be deemed perjury, and shall be punished as such. It may in its discretion take or cause to be taken the testimony on oath of all persons supposed to be cognizant of any facts or to have means of knowledge in relation to the matters as to which any examination is, in this chapter, required to be made, and shall cause the same to be reduced to writing. Investigations in relation to such matters may, in the discretion of the Department, be private, and persons other than those required to be present by the provisions of this chapter may be excluded from that place where such examination is held, and witnesses may be kept separate and apart from each other, and not allowed to communicate with each other until they have been examined.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":224345,"text":"The Department may petition an appropriate judicial officer to summons and compel the attendance of witnesses to testify in relation to any matter which is, by the provisions of this chapter, a subject of inquiry and investigation. It may also administer oaths and affirmations to such witnesses, and false swearing in any such matter shall be deemed perjury, and shall be punished as such. It may in its discretion take or cause to be taken the testimony on oath of all persons supposed to be cognizant of any facts or to have means of knowledge in relation to the matters as to which any examination is, in this chapter, required to be made, and shall cause the same to be reduced to writing. Investigations in relation to such matters may, in the discretion of the Department, be private, and persons other than those required to be present by the provisions of this chapter may be excluded from that place where such examination is held, and witnesses may be kept separate and apart from each other, and not allowed to communicate with each other until they have been examined.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":15306,"edition_id":1,"name":"General Provisions","identifier":"1","label":"article","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":13532,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:53:48","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:53:48","permalink":{"id":190361,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":15306,"identifier":"1","token":"27\/6\/1","url":"\/27\/6\/1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":13532,"edition_id":1,"name":"Department of State Police; Public Building Safety Law; Arson Reporting Immunity Act","identifier":"6","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":13504,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:45:08","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:45:08","permalink":{"id":190359,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13532,"identifier":"6","token":"27\/6","url":"\/27\/6\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":13504,"edition_id":1,"name":"Fire Protection","identifier":"27","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:45:05","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:45:05","permalink":{"id":189965,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13504,"identifier":"27","token":"27","url":"\/27\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":80282,"structure_id":15306,"section_number":"27-55","catch_line":"Department of State Police or successor agency to keep record of fires and explosions; when open to public inspection","url":"\/27-55\/","token":"27\/6\/1\/27-55","metadata":false},{"id":69427,"structure_id":15306,"section_number":"27-56","catch_line":"Department to examine into origin of fires; appointment of arson investigators","url":"\/27-56\/","token":"27\/6\/1\/27-56","metadata":false},{"id":76444,"structure_id":15306,"section_number":"27-57","catch_line":"When insurance company to pay expenses of examination","url":"\/27-57\/","token":"27\/6\/1\/27-57","metadata":false},{"id":73787,"structure_id":15306,"section_number":"27-58","catch_line":"Right to examine buildings or premises","url":"\/27-58\/","token":"27\/6\/1\/27-58","metadata":false},{"id":58274,"structure_id":15306,"section_number":"27-59","catch_line":"Criminal prosecutions","url":"\/27-59\/","token":"27\/6\/1\/27-59","metadata":false},{"id":61418,"structure_id":15306,"section_number":"27-60","catch_line":"Department to conduct investigations in certain cases; investigations may be private","url":"\/27-60\/","token":"27\/6\/1\/27-60","metadata":false},{"id":71050,"structure_id":15306,"section_number":"27-61","catch_line":"When Department or fire chief may remedy inflammable or unsafe conditions","url":"\/27-61\/","token":"27\/6\/1\/27-61","metadata":false},{"id":60103,"structure_id":15306,"section_number":"27-62","catch_line":"Penalty on local officers for violating law","url":"\/27-62\/","token":"27\/6\/1\/27-62","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":58274,"structure_id":15306,"section_number":"27-59","catch_line":"Criminal prosecutions","url":"\/27-59\/","token":"27\/6\/1\/27-59","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":71050,"structure_id":15306,"section_number":"27-61","catch_line":"When Department or fire chief may remedy inflammable or unsafe conditions","url":"\/27-61\/","token":"27\/6\/1\/27-61","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/27-60\/","history_text":"

The record of this law\u2019s original creation isn\u2019t available online. It has been modified 1 time. 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. That modification is as follows: in 1977, chapter 613.<\/p>","references":false,"refers_to":false,"permalink":{"id":190383,"object_type":"law","relational_id":61418,"identifier":"27-60","token":"27\/6\/1\/27-60","url":"\/27-60\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/27-60\/","token":"27\/6\/1\/27-60","dublin_core":{"Title":"Department to conduct investigations in certain cases; investigations may be private","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 27-60","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

The Department may petition<\/span> an appropriate judicial officer to summons<\/span> and compel the attendance of witnesses to testify in relation to any matter which is, by the provisions of this chapter, a subject of inquiry and investigation. It may also administer oaths<\/span> and affirmations to such witnesses, and false swearing in any such matter shall be deemed perjury<\/span>, and shall be punished as such. It may in its discretion take or cause to be taken the testimony<\/span> on oath<\/span> of all persons supposed to be cognizant of any facts<\/span> or to have means of knowledge in relation to the matters as to which any examination is, in this chapter, required to be made, and shall cause the same to be reduced to writing. Investigations in relation to such matters may, in the discretion of the Department, be private, and persons other than those required to be present by the provisions of this chapter may be excluded from that place where such examination is held, and witnesses may be kept separate and apart from each other, and not allowed to communicate with each other until they have been examined.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nDEPARTMENT TO CONDUCT INVESTIGATIONS IN CERTAIN CASES; INVESTIGATIONS MAY BE\nPRIVATE (\u00a7 27-60)\n\nThe Department may petition an appropriate judicial officer to summons and\ncompel the attendance of witnesses to testify in relation to any matter which\nis, by the provisions of this chapter, a subject of inquiry and investigation.\nIt may also administer oaths and affirmations to such witnesses, and false\nswearing in any such matter shall be deemed perjury, and shall be punished as\nsuch. It may in its discretion take or cause to be taken the testimony on oath\nof all persons supposed to be cognizant of any facts or to have means of\nknowledge in relation to the matters as to which any examination is, in this\nchapter, required to be made, and shall cause the same to be reduced to writing.\nInvestigations in relation to such matters may, in the discretion of the\nDepartment, be private, and persons other than those required to be present by\nthe provisions of this chapter may be excluded from that place where such\nexamination is held, and witnesses may be kept separate and apart from each\nother, and not allowed to communicate with each other until they have been\nexamined.\n\nHISTORY: Code 1919, \u00a7 4189; 1977, c. 613.","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}}