In collaboration with others, the Albemarle County Police Department protects and promotes community safety, ensures the safe and orderly movement of traffic, and seeks solutions to any problems that create fear or threaten the quality of life in the county.  Albemarle County is the fifth largest county in the Commonwealth of Virginia containing 740 square miles of land and six square miles of water. The Albemarle County Police Department was created in 1983 to assume primary responsibility for law enforcement. The department's present authorized strength is 123 sworn officers, 23 civilian employees and 3 animal control officers. See ACPD Organizational Chart