News & Announcements Archives
April 2008
Prince William Votes To Change Immigration Enforcement
April 30, 2008 | Virginia News
MANASSAS, Va. -- The Prince William County Board of Supervisors voted late Tuesday to make a change to its controversial immigration policy.Under the county's crackdown on illegal immigrants, police could check the immigration status of anyone they stopped. Supervisors voted Tuesday that the immigration status of anyone who is arrested should be checked before the person gets a bond hearing. The checks will no longer be done simply because of probable cause, officials said.
External Link to ArticleCrime Commission Won’t Offer Advice After Gun Show Study
April 29, 2008 | Virginia News
The Virginia State Crime Commission has agreed to study private sales at gun shows, which are made without background checks. But members have already made clear that they don't plan to do anything about the issue.The 13-member panel said it will not make a recommendation for legislation to the General Assembly on the contentious issue after the commission meets to receive a draft of the report in September.
Ashland’s new police chief is ready to serve
April 27, 2008 | Virginia News
As Ashland's new police chief, Doug Goodman plans to continue proactive traffic enforcement, bear down on drug crimes and keep plans for more youth activities in motion.Town Manager Charles Hartgrove chose Goodman, who joined the department as a captain in August, to replace Tom Clark, who came out of retirement with the Henrico County Division of Police to serve as interim chief after Frederick Pleasants Jr. resigned in 2006. Clark will return to retirement June 30. Goodman takes the reins the next day.
Goodman, 36, came to the department from the Hanover County Sheriff's Office, where he worked for 14 years.
Police staffing, funding lag in Blacksburg
April 24, 2008 | Virginia News
Town council approved four new officers and a dispatcher, but a study shows the town needs 11 new officers and four dispatchers.As state and local law enforcement funding tightens and recruitment of officers becomes more difficult, Blacksburg police struggle to deal with rising rates of drug crime and violence that follow with the rapid urbanization of Virginia's largest town.
States make room for DNA samples
April 24, 2008 | National News
Five states are slated to begin new sampling of suspects arrested for felony offenses between July and January 2009. Of those, North Dakota, California, Maryland and Kansas are spending millions of dollars to prepare for the additional testing. South Dakota, which will begin additional sampling in July, built a new lab in 2006.Marone, who also is director of Virginia's Department of Forensic Science, said Virginia expanded its sampling in 2003 from convicted felons to include suspects arrested, but not tried, for seven felony offenses.
U.S. Supreme Court allows search and seizure in Virginia case
April 23, 2008 | Virginia News
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that police can conduct searches and seize evidence after arrests that sometimes violate state law.The unanimous decision comes in a case from Portsmouth, Va., where city detectives seized crack cocaine from a motorist after arresting him for a traffic ticket offense.
Video cameras in Prince William Co. police cars might not be funded
April 23, 2008 | Virginia News
MANASSAS, Va. - Prince William County supervisors have tentatively decided against installing video cameras in county police cars, which would slash funding for illegal-immigration enforcement.Panels select Winchester police chief candidate
April 23, 2008 | Virginia News
Winchester — After a series of interviews this month, officials have chosen a lead candidate for the city’s vacant police chief position.Three semifinalists for the job, selected from an initial applicant pool of 75 candidates, were interviewed on April 11 by four panels: Winchester residents and City Council members; city managers from Harrisonburg, Portsmouth, and Manassas Park; police chiefs from Leesburg, Fredericksburg, and Culpeper; and Winchester Police Department personnel.
Congressman Wolf: information key to tackling gang problem
April 21, 2008 | Virginia News
WINCHESTER — The growing number of gang members in the Shenandoah Valley and Virginia will likely mean the need for newer databases and information to help law enforcement officers combat the problem.U.S. Rep. Frank R. Wolf, R-10th, said the information collected by the Northwest Virginia Regional Gang Task Force, which oversees the Winchester area, underscores how the gang issue is spreading throughout the country, creating dangerous situations for citizens.
Culpeper PD achieves second national accreditation
April 21, 2008 | Virginia News
For the second time in three years, the Culpeper PD has earned national/international accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement or CALEA, a Fairfax-based nonprofit regulatory group made up of chiefs, sheriffs, elected officials and other law enforcement representatives from across the country.Culpeper is one of only 15 CALEA-accredited programs in Virginia and has met the same standards of much larger forces, including the Virginia Beach, Alexandria, Hampton and Lynchburg police departments.
