Virginia Law

A. Conduct training needs assessment. To determine if a need exists for the creation of a certified criminal justice training academy, a state or local unit of government must complete a training needs assessment. The needs assessment will evaluate the following:

1. The inability to obtain adequate training from existing academies.

2. A hardship that renders the use of other existing academies impractical.

3. The number of criminal justice professionals (i.e., students) the certified criminal justice training academy would serve.

4. That there are a sufficient number of criminal justice professionals, financial resources, and academy personnel to support the creation and maintenance of a full-time regional or independent training academy for a minimum of five years.

B. Identify and acknowledge commitments. The state or local unit of government shall in writing make the following commitments:

1. The provision of a full range of training to include basic training, in-service training, and instructor certification and recertification training.

2. The assignment of one position with primary responsibility as academy director and one clerical, financial officer or support position to support training and training-related functions.

3. The provision of adjunct instructors to instruct classes and courses.

4. The maintenance of a training facility adequate to conduct training in accordance with academy certification standards.

5. The commitment of sufficient funding to adequately support the training function.

C. Review and consideration.

1. The state or local governmental unit shall submit a training needs assessment and written commitments to the Committee on Training (COT) as described in subsections A and B of this section.

2. The department and the COT shall review and consider assessments after reviewing the mutual agreement documents signed by the separating agency and the certified criminal justice training academy.

3. The COT shall review the assessment and make a recommendation to the department as to whether the creation of an academy is warranted.

4. If the COT recommends the creation of the proposed academy, the department shall make a determination as to whether the creation of an academy is warranted.

a. If the creation of a regional academy is approved by the department, the governing bodies or political subdivisions of the proposed academy must successfully complete the academy certification process and be in compliance with the provisions of § 15.2-1747 of the Code of Virginia.

b. If the creation of an independently operated academy is approved by the department, the governing body of the proposed academy must successfully complete the academy certification process and be in compliance with the provisions of subsection D of § 15.2-1747 of the Code of Virginia.