News & Announcements
Law enforcement agencies share intelligence in new center
September 29, 2009 | Virginia News
The call came from an intelligence fusion center in Illinois to Virginia's fusion center in Chesterfield County.Police at the University of Illinois had identified a Virginia resident who had been cyber-stalking two students and threatening to carry out a campus massacre similar to what occurred in 2007 at Virginia Tech. The suspect said by e-mail that he was on his way to the university on Jan. 12, 2008.
The Virginia Fusion Center, housed in Virginia State Police headquarters on Midlothian Turnpike, used the information to find out what kind of car the suspect was driving and to determine that he had no record of firearms purchases in the state. They soon found him through local law enforcement in Southwest Virginia, where he was being held on a mental-health warrant, Virginia State Police said.
Only 59 Percent of Police Agencies Require Officers to Wear Body Armor, Survey Shows
September 23, 2009 | National News
From the Police Executive Research ForumWashington, DC - Nearly all law enforcement agencies report that they provide body armor to their officers, but only 59 percent of the agencies require their officers to wear body armor at least some of the time, according to a new report by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), a Washington, D.C.-based police research and consulting organization.
Agenda for Small Agency Symposium Now Available
September 18, 2009 | VACP
The agenda is now available for the Small Agency Law Enforcement Executive Symposium, to be held September 28-29, 2009 in Abingdon. This training will provide both legal and cultural diversity in-service credits.If you have not yet registered for the symposium, there is still space available. Please complete the registration form and return it at your earliest convenience.
Small Law Enforcement Agency Executive Symposium Information
Va. improves emergency communication in years after 9/11
September 11, 2009 | Virginia News
Eight years after staring into the smoking inferno of the Pentagon, Virginia State Police Superintendent W. Steven Flaherty still is trying to solve one of the biggest problems faced that day -- rescuers who couldn't talk to one another.At the Pentagon in Arlington County and the World Trade Center in New York City, heroic efforts were made by firefighters, police and rescue workers who weren't always able to communicate because they used different radio systems.
Arlington firefighters lent one of their radios to firefighters from Washington so they could talk while fighting the blaze caused when an airliner was crashed by terrorists into the heart of America's military establishment.
Solving that communications problem -- called "interoperability" in the emergency-management world -- has been one of Virginia's biggest success stories since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as well as one of the state's biggest continuing challenges.
Governor Kaine Announces Plan to Address Fiscal Year 2010 Shortfall
September 8, 2009 | Virginia News
Shortfall for remainder of fiscal year just over $1.35 billionDOWNLOAD GOVERNOR KAINE'S FY 2010 BUDGET REDUCTION PLAN (PDF)
RICHMOND – Governor Timothy M. Kaine today announced his executive spending reduction plan to meet the FY 2010 revenue shortfall of $1.35 billion. The Governor's plan trims government spending by reducing the scope of some government programs, while protecting K-12 education and other critical government functions.
Virginia Drunk Drivers: No One Is Above the Consequences
September 2, 2009 | Virginia News
Statewide Initiative Decreases Alcohol-Related FatalitiesRICHMOND, Va. – In the heart of Richmond’s popular bar district Shockoe Bottom, Virginia Attorney General William C. Mims joined law enforcement officers to kick off the Commonwealth’s 2009 Checkpoint Strikeforce campaign.
Governor Kaine Announces $17 Million in Highway Safety Grants
September 2, 2009 | Virginia News
Decline in fatalities attributed to grant-funded programsDeputy Ray laid to rest
September 2, 2009 | Virginia News
Friends recall fun-loving, caring manCOURTLAND—Hundreds of mourners, many of them in uniform from police, fire and rescue departments from around the region, came to pay their respects and say goodbye Monday to Christopher Darby Ray, a 22-year-old Southampton County deputy who was killed in a car accident Saturday morning.
