NCJ Number
140287
Date Published
1989
Length
34 pages
Annotation
The Virginia General Assembly authorized the State Crime Commission to study the current use of part-time deputy sheriffs, volunteer, or auxiliary law enforcement personnel, to evaluate minimum training standards relevant to part-time and volunteer personnel, and to determine the level of funding needed to provide training for these officers.
Abstract
The Commission found that at least 36 police departments and 21 sheriffs' offices in Virginia employ part-time or auxiliary personnel. The Code of Virginia provides auxiliaries with all the powers of constables at common law and gives them the powers of full-time law enforcement officers if they have satisfied the State-mandated training requirements. The Commission recommended that the Code be amended to authorize each jurisdiction to establish training standards for its auxiliary program, which would be based on the basic and in- service firearms training requirements established by the Criminal Justice Services Board. Furthermore, the Commission recommended that the Code be amended to require all part-time law enforcement officers to complete training consistent with that of full-time officers. This would require each auxiliary to complete approximately 315 classroom hours and 60 field hours of training, as well as 40 hours of in-service training every 2 years, at a cost of $7.13 per person per hour in 1989. 4 appendixes