Your Custom Text Here
A message from James City County acknowledging VCIJ’s record request and an invoice the county sent. Image: Kunle Falayi//VCIJ
VCIJ at WHRO sent identical records requests to dozens of Virginia law enforcement agencies. The proposed fees challenged how ‘public’ public records really are.
Read more
A nonprofit newsroom received law enforcement rosters and certification data from the state after a court battle.
Read more
Since 2020, changes to the disciplinary process for law enforcement officers have driven up decertifications of wayward cops and prison guards. But a new law may shield investigators’ records and hearings from the public
Read more
A recruitment poster for the Norfolk, Virginia Police Department hangs inside a New York City subway train in July 2022. Photo by Dan Morisson // VCIJ at WHRO
In the wake of George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis police, Virginia lawmakers took action on reports that state policing regulators failed to strip the police certifications from dozens of officers with criminal convictions ranging from embezzlement to possession of child pornography and sexual assault.
The Legislature passed a bill in October 2020 requiring police departments to complete internal investigations even if officers resign during them, and to provide any records of misconduct to new prospective employers for officers; strengthening the requirements for agencies to send reports of misconduct to state regulators; expanding the offenses for which officers can be stripped of their certifications; and requiring a state board to write a statewide standard of conduct for policing.
Three years later, barely anything has changed.
Read more