SD7 - Alternatives to Stabilize Regional Criminal Justice Training Academy Membership


Executive Summary:
Senate Joint Resolution 411 (1999) directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), with the assistance of the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), to study methods to standardize the membership of the State's ten regional criminal justice training academies. The study was to include a review of financial incentives, the feasibility of permanent boundaries, and alternative methods for member agencies to withdraw from regional academies. This review was in response to a 1998 JLARC study which found that changes in academy membership in recent years created financial and operational problems for the academies. The earlier study also made several recommendations related to training standards, testing policies, facilities, and field training. The 1999 General Assembly enacted new requirements for certification exams and field training as a result.

In Virginia, local criminal justice agencies are responsible for ensuring that their officers are properly trained and certified as required by law. Some of the larger cities and urban counties operate their own independent academies. Most jurisdictions, however, use the ten State-supported regional training academies. Currently, these academies serve more than 12,500 officers from 296 agencies.