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Virginia Administrative Code
Title 6. Criminal Justice And Corrections
12/22/2024

6VAC20. Department of Criminal Justice Services

VAC AGENCY NO. 20

DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES

AGENCY SUMMARY

The Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), under the direction of its policy-making body, the Criminal Justice Services Board, is an agency within the Secretariat of Public Safety and Homeland Security. DCJS is charged with planning and carrying out programs and initiatives to improve the functioning and effectiveness of the criminal justice system as a whole and is authorized to promulgate regulations for the administration of its responsibilities. Code of Virginia, Title 9.1, Chapter 1, Article 1.

DCJS's primary constituents are local and state criminal justice agencies and practitioners, private security practitioners and businesses, public school systems, colleges and universities, and the public-at-large. Other constituents include local governments and state agencies, the federal government, private nonprofit agencies and advocacy groups/associations.

DCJS provides planning, coordination, program development and evaluation, data and policy analysis, technical and financial assistance, and training for criminal justice personnel, educators and school and campus safety personnel, and victim services providers. 

DCJS is responsible for administering state and federal funds for improving the  criminal and juvenile justice systems and improving the services for crime victims, including the allocation and expenditure of such funds. Code of Virginia § 9.1-102.

DCJS is responsible for determining the allocation of state aid to localities with police departments (“599” funds). Code of Virginia, Title 9.1, Chapter 1, Article 8 (§ 9.1-165 et seq.).

DCJS regulates and establishes training standards for law-enforcement officers, courtroom security officers, jail officers, civil process officers, correctional officers of the Department of Corrections,, dispatchers employed by or in local and state law-enforcement agencies, and deputy sheriffs designated to serve process. Code of Virginia § 9.1-102.

DCJS is authorized to establish qualifications for certification and recertification for law-enforcement officers serving as field training officers, and compulsory minimum qualifications for the certification and recertification of instructors in criminal justice training schools approved by DCJS. Va. Code § 9.1-102.

DCJS is authorized to establish time requirements for the completion of training and set guidelines as to how required training may be secured, and may require agencies to submit reports and information as necessary. DCJS is authorized to establish and maintain training programs and institutions. Code of Virginia § 9.1-102.

DCJS establishes training standards and publishes model policies and protocols for law-enforcement personnel in numerous areas, including (i) responding to family abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking cases; (ii) situations involving missing persons and search and rescue; (iii) communicating with and facilitating the safe return of individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease; (iv) sensitivity to and awareness of cultural diversity and the potential for biased policing; (v) sensitivity to and awareness of human trafficking offenses and the identification of victims of human trafficking offenses; and (vi) protocols for local or regional sexual assault response teams. Code of Virginia § 9.1-102.

DCJS is authorized to promulgate regulations establishing minimum standards for certification of crime prevention specialists. Code of Virginia §§ 9.1-161 and 9.1-162.

DCJS is authorized to promulgate regulations for the forfeited drug asset sharing program. Code of Virginia, Title 19.2, Chapter 22.1 (§ 19.2-386.1 et seq.).

DCJS is authorized to develop, in consultation with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS), a model addiction recovery program that may be administered by sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, jail officers, administrators, or superintendents in any local or regional jail. Code of Virginia § 9.1-102.

DCJS is authorized to develop, in consultation with DBHDS and law-enforcement and mental health stakeholders, a training programs for all persons involved in crisis intervention team programs. Code of Virginia, Title 9.1, Chapter 1, Article 13 (§ 9.1-187 et seq.).

DCJS houses the Virginia Center for School and Campus Safety and is authorized to establish, in consultation with the Department of Education and the Virginia State Crime Commission, compulsory minimum standards for employment and job-entry and in-service training curricula and certification requirements for school security officers and campus security officers. Code of Virginia §§ 9.1-102 and 9.1-184.

DCJS is authorized to prescribe standards for the development, implementation, operation, and evaluation of local community-based probation and pretrial services agencies and facilities authorized under the Comprehensive Community Corrections Act for Local-Responsible Offenders and the Pretrial Services Act. Code of Virginia, Title 9.1, Chapter 1, Article 9 (§ 9.1-173 et seq.) and Chapter 9, Article 5 (§ 19.2-152.2 et seq.).

DCJS is authorized to promulgate regulations governing the provisions of funds to local governments for operating victim and witness assistance programs. Code of Virginia § 9.1-104.

DCJS is authorized to promulgate regulations to administer the Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Program, which supports local CASA programs that provide advocates on behalf of children who are subjects of abuse and neglect cases in juvenile courts. These volunteer advocates must meet the qualifications established by DCJS regulations. The regulations establish program management guidelines and standards for basic and ongoing training of these advocates. Code of Virginia Title 9.1, Chapter 1, Article 5 (§ 9.1-151 et seq.).

DCJS licenses private security services businesses, registers private security services professionals and special conservators of the peace, and licenses bail bondsmen and bail enforcement agents. Code of Virginia § 9.1-102; Title 9.1, Chapter 1, Articles 4 (§ 9.1-138 et seq.), 4.1 (§ 9.1-150.1 et seq.), 11 (§ 9.1-185 et seq.), and 12 (§ 9.1-186 et seq.); and § 19.2-13.

DCJS is authorized to issue regulations establishing compulsory minimum, entry level, in-service, and advanced training standards; administrative requirements; and standards of conduct for private security services business personnel and for private security services training schools and instructors. Code of Virginia Title 9.1, Chapter 1, Article 4 (§ 9.1-138 et seq.).

DCJS is authorized to issue regulations establishing compulsory minimum, entry level, and in-service training standards; administrative requirements; standards of conduct; and bail recovery requirements for property and surety bail bondsmen, bail bondsman agents, and bail enforcement agents. Code of Virginia § 9.1-102 and Title 9.1, Chapter 1, Articles 11 (§ 9.1-185 et seq.) and 12 (§ 9.1-186 et seq.).

DCJS is authorized to issue regulations establishing compulsory minimum, entry level, in-service, and advanced training standards; administrative requirements; and standards of conduct for special conservators of the peace. Code of Virginia § 19.2-13 and Title 9.1, Chapter 1, Article 4.1 (§ 9.1-150.1 et seq.).

DCJS is authorized to register tow truck drivers. Code of Virginia §§ 9.1-102, 46.2-116, and 46.2-117.

DCJS is authorized to establish guidelines, standards, and procedures for the collection, storage, and dissemination of criminal history record information and correctional status information, including regulations pertaining to sealing and purging criminal history record information and an individual's right of access to his own criminal history record.DCJS may review an agency's refusal to modify or correct an individual's criminal history record. Code of Virginia § 9.1-102; Title 9.1, Chapter 1, Article 3 (§ 9.1-126 et seq.); and § 19.2-392.2.

DCJS is authorized to promulgate regulations to ensure the identity, confidentiality, and security of all records and data provided by the Department of State Police related to criminal history record information checks completed prior to the sale, rental, trade, or transfer of certain firearms.  Code of Virginia § 18.2-308.2:2.

DCJS is authorized to issue regulations for audits of criminal justice agencies to ensure compliance of an agency's criminal justice information system with established procedures and guidelines. Code of Virginia § 9.1-131.

DCJS operates under the supervision of the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security. Regulations for DCJS are available at the Department of Criminal Justice Services, 1100 Bank Street, Richmond, VA 23219. Internet address: http://www.dcjs.virginia.gov

Rev 09/2018

 

Website addresses provided in the Virginia Administrative Code to documents incorporated by reference are for the reader's convenience only, may not necessarily be active or current, and should not be relied upon. To ensure the information incorporated by reference is accurate, the reader is encouraged to use the source document described in the regulation.

As a service to the public, the Virginia Administrative Code is provided online by the Virginia General Assembly. We are unable to answer legal questions or respond to requests for legal advice, including application of law to specific fact. To understand and protect your legal rights, you should consult an attorney.