Charleston Police DepartmentGovernment

The Charleston Police Department (CPD) is the primary municipal law enforcement agency serving the City of Charleston, the state capital and largest metropolitan center of West Virginia. Its statutory mandate is to protect public safety, enforce municipal, state, and federal criminal and traffic statutes, conduct criminal investigations, and provide 24/7 patrol services across the capital city. While the settlement was founded in 1794 as Charles Town by the Virginia General Assembly, the modern municipal police force was formally organized in 1870 when Charleston officially incorporated as a city and was designated the state capital of West Virginia.