Because of the unique nature of
the railroads, which cut their own privately owned thoroughfares through the state but
transport people and goods as highways do, the Legislature created a special
police officer to help handle law enforcement. These special police are
appointed by the Governor, on application by a railroad company.
Although the law sets no specific eligibility requirements for appointment,
the Governor's Office requests a background check before the appointment is made.
Upon appointment, each special
police officer is required to execute the oath
prescribed by the Constitution. The original oath must be filed in the office
of the clerk of the county commission in the county where the special police
officer resides. After that original is filed, the officer or the
employer must obtain certified copies of the original oath and file one with
the Secretary of State and one with the clerk of the county commission of each
county which the railroad passes through. The authority of the officer
within a county depends on whether the oath is on file in that county.
No specific term is attached to
the appointment of these special officers, and they retain the status and
authority of special railroad police for as long as they continue in the
employment of the company for which they were appointed. When the
company no longer employs a person as a special police officer, the company
files a notice to that effect under its corporate seal with the Secretary of
State and with each county in which the the original appointment was
filed. The officer's authority ceases when that notice is filed.
The Governor may revoke an
appointment for good cause. Special police officers may also be removed
from office for official misconduct, incompetence, habitual drunkenness,
neglect of duty or gross immorality under the removal procedures established
for other officers in West Virginia Code Chapter 6, Article 9.
The authority of special railroad
police is the same as that a deputy sheriff in a county where the railroad
extends and where the officer's oath is on file.
The provisions authorizing the appointment of special
railroad police appears in the article of the West Virginia Code relating to
crimes against property, W. Va. Code §61-3-41.
The section relating to railroad property crimes dates back to Virginia in
1849, but not until 1909 did the Legislature create this special position.
The section was amended 1915, 1923 and 1976, but it remains only
a brief paragraph in the West Virginia Code.
