West Virginia Code
Article 14. Law and Order; Police Force or Departments; Powers, Authority and Duties of Law-Enforcement Officials and Policemen; Police Matrons; Special School Zone and Parking Lot or Parking Building Police Officers; Civil Service for Certain Police...
§8-14-1. Power and Authority With Respect to the Preservation of Law and Order; Police Force or Departments

§8-14-1. Power and authority with respect to the preservation of law and order; police force or departments.
Every municipality shall have plenary power and authority to protect persons and property within the municipality and preserve law and order therein, and, for this purpose, to provide for, establish, equip and maintain a police force or department. The police force or department in each municipality shall be subject to the authority, control and discipline of the administrative authority.
For the purposes of this article, the term "paid police department" shall be taken to mean only a municipal police department maintained and paid for out of public funds and whose employees are paid on a full-time basis out of public funds. The term shall not be taken to mean a department whose employees are paid nominal salaries or wages or are only paid for services actually rendered on an hourly basis.

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