Editing Washington County, Arkansas (section)

===Public safety===
The Washington County Sheriff's Office is the primary law enforcement agency in the county. The agency is led by the Washington County Sheriff, an official elected by countywide vote every four years. Ten municipalities have police departments providing law enforcement in their respective jurisdictions; Goshen, Tontitown, and Winslow contract with the Washington County Sheriff's Office for law enforcement services. All municipalities contract with the Washington County Sheriff's Office for incarceration at the Washington County Detention Center in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas Police Department provides law enforcement on the [[campus of the University of Arkansas]] in close cooperation with the Fayetteville PD.

The county is under the jurisdiction of the Washington County District Court, a [[Arkansas District Court|state district court]].<ref name="harvp|Directory|2016|p= 54">{{harvp|"Directory"|2016|p= 54}}.</ref> State district courts in Arkansas are courts of [[original jurisdiction]] for misdemeanors offenses and civil, small claims, and traffic matters.<ref name="jd" >{{ cite web |author= Staff of the Arkansas Judiciary |title= District Courts |url= https://www.arcourts.gov/courts/district-courts |date=July 1, 2019 |publisher= Arkansas Judiciary |access-date= November 7, 2019 }}</ref> Local district courts are presided over by full-time judges in countywide elections.

Superseding district court jurisdiction is the [[Arkansas Circuit Courts|4th Judicial Circuit Court]], which covers Washington and Madison counties. The 4th Circuit contains seven circuit judges, elected to six-year terms circuitwide.<ref>{{harvp|"Directory"|2016|p= 10}}.</ref>