Division of Capitol Police Attains State Accreditation
March 11, 2010 | VACP
Accreditation Board Cites Division as an Example to be Followed
RICHMOND, VA – The oldest law enforcement agency in the United States is the newest recipient of the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission accredited status.
The Division of Capitol Police (DCP), a legislative branch agency, which can trace its roots to the year 1618, has successfully completed the requirements of the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission (VLEPSC). The Division of Capitol Police was formally certified as a fully accredited agency on March 11, 2010 at the Commission’s Executive Board meeting at the Patrick Henry Building located near Capitol Square in Richmond. Now, the Virginia Division of Capitol Police is the oldest Law Enforcement Agency in the nation to obtain an accredited ranking from its state commission. "Like all members of the General Assembly, I am proud and delighted that the oldest police department in the nation has been appropriately recognized as a professional and efficient police department by the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission," said Virginia House of Delegates Speaker William J. Howell. "Each and every one of the caring and capable men and women of the Capitol Police have worked diligently toward achieving this hard-earned and well-deserved status. Under the strong very effective leadership of Chief Lettner, I have no doubt that this impressive law enforcement organization will continue to maintain their accreditation in the same professional manner by which they attained this distinction." Accredited status through the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission indicates a law enforcement agency is in compliance with 187 Commission standards that address items ranging from traditional law enforcement duties, such as arrest procedures and use of force policies; administrative processes involving financial management and inventory control; training; and service delivery. The Division was required to prove compliance with the standards to an assessment team of law enforcement professionals. The accreditation process can be lengthy, taking months of review and hours of staff preparation. This was an opportunity for the Division to review and revise existing policies; and to develop and implement new policies and procedures. Proofs of compliance and essential data were compiled, submitted, and then reviewed by the board. The DCP is now one of over 80 Virginia law enforcement agencies to receive accredited status. A reaccreditation assessment is conducted every four years. “It has been a lot of hard work for the men and women of the Division of Capitol Police and we are very proud of this accomplishment. It has always been our mission to provide progressive law enforcement and security services to our government officials, state employees, and visitors to the capital area." said Kim Lettner, Chief of the Division of Capitol Police." Achieving accreditation is professional recognition of the best practices we employ in accomplishing that mission.” DCP is responsible for law enforcement services in the Capitol Complex, including the Capitol, General Assembly Building, and Virginia Supreme Court, as well as other assigned state facilities in the Richmond area. The Division also provides protective services for the Governor and his family while they are in residence, the Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Virginia Supreme Court Justices, and members of the General Assembly. The agency began serving the Commonwealth as the protective Guard for the colonial Governor of Jamestown – America’s first permanent English Settlement in 1618. The agency received its statutory authority as a police agency in 1884 and has evolved into an elite specialized police department with a force of over seventy sworn personnel. Most recently the Division was the lead agency providing security for the Inauguration ceremonies for Governor Robert F. McDonnell. The Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police and the Virginia Sheriffs Association in partnership with the Department of Criminal Justice Services created the accrediting body, VLEPSC, for law enforcement agencies in the Commonwealth. The VLEPSC accreditation program is voluntary and open to more than 400 law enforcement agencies in the Commonwealth.
