County’s first woman road deputy can deal with any situation

By Erin McGrath

Published: August 6, 2008

Rebecca Adcock is the only deputy in the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office who is writing tickets with white-tipped manicured fingernails.

She is also the only full-time, female deputy on the road, a first in the county.

“I love the job,” Adcock said. “I try to give 100 percent.”

Adcock, 50, of Piney River, was a deputy and narcotics investigator with the Amherst County Sheriff’s office for nine years before coming to Nelson County in July.

“The sheriff of Amherst was good enough to let me live in Nelson and work in Amherst,” Adcock said. “It just brings me a little bit closer to my family.”

Before joining the Amherst County Sheriff’s Office, Adcock worked at Wintergreen.

“I never really thought about working law enforcement but the opportunity came up and I just love doing it,” she said.

Working with a mostly all-male staff doesn’t intimidate her. And during her time in law enforcement, “I can’t really say I’ve ever really run up on a problem” because she’s a woman, Adcock said.

“Of course, you get disrespectful people out there, but it’s all in the way you handle the situation and talk to people,” she said.

“When you get out on a call, you’ve got an instinct that tells you what you can do and what you can’t do.”

Adcock is working the night shift, and each is filled with “a little bit of everything,” she said.

When nothing is going on, Adcock patrols Virginia 151 as much as possible.

Then it’s “stop by the office and keep riding.”