State Criminal Justice Profile

Virginia

BJA Investments

In Fiscal Year 2014, BJA provided more than $13 million* in state and local funds to Virginia.

Justice Assistance Grant Program—State Formula $3,555,861
Justice Assistance Grant Program—33 Local Awards $1,809,219
Other Direct Discretionary Funds $8,168,550

Source: Bureau of Justice Assistance
*This amount does not include funding for national training and technical assistance programs that benefit all states and territories.

PDF IconInvestment Details

Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program—State Formula

Grantee Name GMS Project Period Project Title GMS Award Amount
Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 2014 Virginia Byrne JAG Program $3,555,861

Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program—Local Awards

Grantee Name GMS Project Period Project Title GMS Award Amount
Albemarle County 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2015 Supporting Community Policing Efforts $15,732
Arlington County 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 Advancing Public Safety $44,802
Augusta County 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2015 Investigations Technology Upgrade Program $11,600
Bedford County 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2015 Live Scan System $15,451
Chesterfield County 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 Tasers—Less-Lethal Option $59,595
City of Alexandria 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 Part I Crime Intervention and Interdiction Project $36,114
City of Charlottesville 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 FY 2014 Edward Byrne Memorial JAG—Physical Fitness Equipment $27,050
City of Chesapeake 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 Funding Police Equipment and Commonwealth Attorney Community Prosecution Program $122,759
City of Danville 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2015 Mobile Forensic Solution $22,213
City of Fredericksburg 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2015 Forensics—Data Extraction Project $14,417
City of Hampton 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 Interview and Interrogation Audio/Video Recording System $50,437
City of Harrisonburg 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2015 Realistic Training to Improve Stress-Related Performance $14,183
City of Hopewell 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2015 Hopewell Police Department 2014 JAG $20,522
City of Lynchburg 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 JAG Program $40,951
City of Manassas 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2015 Capturing and Managing Digital Evidence in the Field $19,067
City of Newport News 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 2014 JAG Program $121,585
City of Petersburg 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2015 Enhanced Community Policing Equipment and SWAT Armor $24,373
City of Portsmouth 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 Equipment, Technology Initiatives, and Patrol Equipment Vehicle Replacement $76,595
City of Richmond 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 A Regional Approach to Community Policing $201,797
City of Roanoke 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 JAG Program $85,049
City of Suffolk 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 JAG Program $37,711
City of Virginia Beach 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 FY 2014 Edward Byrne Memorial JAG Program for the City of Virginia Beach $111,113
County of Fairfax 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 Technological and Tactical Upgrade for Operations $129,005
County of Henrico 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 JAG Program $70,021
County of Roanoke 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2015 FY 2014 JAG Program $14,183
County of Stafford 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 Stafford County Sheriff’s Office Executive Training Center Equipment Project $26,909
Henry County 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2015 FY 2014 JAG Project $24,139
James City County 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2015 James City County Police Department JAG Program $10,144
Loudoun County 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 JAG Program $30,525
Norfolk Police Department 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 City of Norfolk Law Enforcement Program $198,227
Prince William County 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) $84,156
Spotsylvania County 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 Spotsylvania County Request for FY 2014 Edward Byrne Memorial JAG Program—Local Solicitation $37,476
York County 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2015 Crime Analysis Software Module $11,318

Other Direct Discretionary Funds

Grantee Name GMS Project Period Project Title GMS Award Amount
NW3C, Inc. National White Collar Crime Center 04/01/2013 – 09/30/2015 Electronic Crime and Mortgage Fraud Training Project $6,652,252
Office of the Attorney General of Virginia 10/01/2014 – 09/30/2016 Eastern District of Virginia FY 2014 Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative $498,547
Virginia Department of Corrections 10/01/2014 – 09/30/2016 Virginia Department of Corrections Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Demonstration Project $460,913
Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services 10/01/2013 – 09/30/2017 Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners (RSAT) Program $223,031
Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services 10/01/2014 – 09/30/2015 Virginia John R. Justice Grant Program $35,327
Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services 09/01/2014 – 08/31/2015 PREA Reallocation Program $99,493
Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services 08/01/2012 – 07/31/2015 Virginia Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) Program $198,987

Law Enforcement Agencies and Officers

Law Enforcement Agencies: 283

Sworn Officers: 18,756

City     County     Tribal     State     Other

Source: FBI Uniform Crime Report (2013)

  • More than 75% of the 283 law enforcement agencies in Virginia have 50 or fewer sworn officers.
  • Nearly 68% of sworn officers work for agencies with 100 or more officers.

Officer Fatalities and Assaults

Between 2004 and 2013, 14 officers were feloniously killed (1 in 2013) and 24 officers were accidentally killed in the line of duty. In 2013, 1,240 officers were assaulted (2.49% of all officers assaulted in the United States).

Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reports

Crime Trends

According to the FBI Annual Report, nationwide violent crime in 2013 decreased more than 4% from the 2012 estimates. Below are the current crime trends for Virginia:

Crime 2012 2013 %
Violent Crime 15,564 16,205 4.1
Murder and Manslaughter 314 316 0.6
Forcible Rape* 1,452 3,843 N/A
Robbery 4,706 4,565 -3.0
Aggravated Assault 9,092 9,062 -0.3
Property Crime 176,985 170,654 -3.6
Burglary 29,511 26,640 -9.7
Larceny-Theft 138,398 135,478 -2.1
Motor Vehicle Theft 9,076 8,536 -5.9
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reports
*This state’s agencies submitted rape data according to the revised UCR definition of rape.

Arrest Data

In 2013, total arrests (321,040) decreased 5.40% from 2012. Violent-crime arrests increased 1.37% (6,858), and property-related arrests decreased 1.00% (37,223).
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reports

Court Structure

Court of Last Resort:    Supreme Court
Intermediate Appellate:    Court of Appeals
General Jurisdiction:    Circuit Court
Limited Jurisdiction:    District Court
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics (2011)

Corrections

Prisoner Admissions: 11,636
Prisoner Releases: 11,880
Total Prisoners: 36,982

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics (2013)

Major Correctional Facilities: 38
Recidivism Rate*: 22.8%
Top Offenses: Robbery, larceny/fraud, assault (FY 2013)

Source: Virginia Department of Corrections
*The Virginia Department of Corrections tracks reincarcerations, including those stemming from parole violations, for 3 years after release from an adult correctional facility.

Regional Informations Sharing Systems® (RISS)

The Regional Organized Crime Information Center (ROCIC), a RISS Center, serves Virginia. There are 106 Virginia criminal justice agencies that are members of ROCIC.
Source: Regional Information Sharing Systems

Seal of Virginia

Highlights

In Virginia, Byrne JAG state funding has assisted with numerous innovative initiatives and supports:

  • City of Charlottesville’s Check and Connect Student Engagement Program, which is targeting truants or youth at risk of truancy at 3 elementary schools and providing comprehensive engagement and intervention services.

  • The nonprofit Citizens Against Family Violence, which is implementing a Safe Date curriculum for 100 middle school students at local Boys & Girls Clubs in the Martinsville area and Coaching Boys Into Men training for recreation league coaches.

  • City of Suffolk Police Department, which is using predictive policing software and problem-oriented policing tactical crime analysis to reduce crime and the fear of crime in identified hot spots. The police department is partnering with Old Dominion University for necessary research and analysis.

Source: National Criminal Justice Association

PDF IconDetails on Virginia’s priorities and planning process

State Administering Agency (SAA)

Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services Francine C. Ecker, Director
http://www.dcjs.virginia.gov/

Virginia At-A-Glance

Total Population: 8,260,405
Population Under 18: 1,864,535
Population Over 65: 1,105,381

Source: U.S. Census (2013 est.)

State Investigative Agency:
Virginia State Police Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, Superintendent

Local Governments: 518
Source: U.S. Census (2012)

Federally Recognized Tribes: 1
Source: Bureau of Indian Affairs

U.S. Attorneys’ Offices: Dana J. Boente—Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria John P. Fishwick, Jr.—Western District of Virginia, Roanoke Source: U.S. Department of Justice

Homeland Security Agency: Virginia Department of Emergency Management Jeffrey D. Stern, State Coordinator http://www.vaemergency.gov/

Drug Courts: 38
Source: National Drug Court Resource Center