Douglas Sott, Chief of Police, City of Fairfax Police Department

M. Douglas Scott

M. Douglas Scott has nearly four decades of law enforcement experience including 17 years serving as a Chief of Police. He began his law enforcement career as a Police Cadet with the Fairfax County Police Department in 1975. In 1995, Chief Scott was appointed as the Chief of Police for Fairfax County. Fairfax County PD is the largest local law enforcement agency in the Commonwealth of Virginia. During his tenure with Fairfax County Chief Scott held a number of important command positions including serving as the Director of the Public Safety Academy, Commander of the 9-11 Dispatch Center, District Station Commander, Patrol Bureau Commander and Night Duty Officer. In 1998, he retired from Fairfax County and was named Chief of Police in the City of Fairfax Police Department. He left local law enforcement briefly in 2000 to join federal service when he accepted a position as an Assistant Inspector General for the U.S. Department of the Interior and remained in that position until accepting the position of Chief of Police in Arlington, VA in April of 2003.

He retired from active law enforcement service in 2015 and started MDScott & Associates, LLC to provide public safety consulting services and law enforcement training. He is also currently an adjunct faculty member teaching criminal justice courses at Marymount University.

Chief Scott holds an Associate’s degree in Police Science, a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Behavioral Science. In 2005 he received his Master’s Degree in Public Administration from George Mason University. He is also a graduate of the FBI’s National Academy (157th Session), the FBI’s National Executive Institute (19th Session) and the Naval Post Graduate School Center for Homeland Defense & Security-Homeland Security Executive Leaders Program. In 2009 Chief Scott was elected to serve as the President of the VA Association of Chiefs of Police (VACP). Until his retirement in 2015 Chief Scott served for many years as an Executive Board Member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).