Law-enforcement officers; CJSB to adopt statewide professional standards of conduct. (SB196)
Introduced By
Progress
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Introduced |
✗ |
Passed Committee |
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Passed House |
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Passed Senate |
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Signed by Governor |
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Became Law |
Description
Decertification of law-enforcement officers; Criminal Justice Services Board; statewide professional standards of conduct. Requires the Criminal Justice Services Board (the Board) to adopt, by July 1, 2019, statewide professional standards of conduct applicable to all certified law-enforcement officers and certified jail officers. The bill requires any sheriff, chief of police, or agency administrator to notify the Board in writing within 48 hours of becoming aware that any certified law-enforcement or jail officer currently employed by his agency has been found to have engaged in serious misconduct. The bill authorizes the Board to initiate decertification proceedings against any former law-enforcement or jail officer who has engaged in serious misconduct as defined in such statewide professional standards of conduct. The bill has a delayed effective date of October 1, 2019. Read the Bill »
Outcome
History
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| 01/01/2018 | Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/10/18 18101568D |
| 01/01/2018 | Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice |
| 01/17/2018 | Impact statement from DPB (SB196) |
| 01/24/2018 | Failed to report (defeated) in Courts of Justice (7-Y 8-N) (see vote tally) |
Comments
The ACLU strongly supports this legislation and urges its passage. We need to look carefully at how we “license” police in Virginia. Unlike medical doctors and lawyers, people who are certified as qualified to serve as law enforcement officers in the Commonwealth cannot lose their certification for unethical behavior or police “malpractice.” Someone can violate departmental use-of-force policies, get fired, and maintain the certificate that allows them to be hired at another law enforcement agency. In Virginia, you can only lose your certificate if you are convicted of a felony or certain misdemeanors or fail to do mandatory training. You cannot lose it for misconduct. That needs to change, and this bill begins the process of developing standards and due process procedures that will allow that to occur. For more information read ACLU-VA report on Accountability in Policing: An Agenda for Reform at https://www.acluva.org/en/publications/accountability-virginia-policing-agenda-reform