                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

ENFORCEMENT OF LAWS BY THE STATE INSPECTOR GENERAL OR INVESTIGATORS; POLICE
POWER OF THE OFFICE OF STATE INSPECTOR GENERAL; TRAINING (§ 2.2-311)

A. The State Inspector General may designate himself and no more than 30 members
of the investigations unit of the Office to have the same powers as a sheriff or
a law-enforcement officer in the investigation of allegations of criminal
behavior affecting the operations of a state agency or nonstate agency pursuant
to his duties as set forth in this chapter. Such employees shall be subject to
any minimum training standards established by the Department of Criminal Justice
Services under &#xA7; 9.1-102 for law-enforcement officers prior to exercising
any law-enforcement power under this subsection.
			The State Inspector General and the Superintendent of the Virginia State
Police shall enter into a Memorandum of Understanding setting forth the
respective roles and responsibilities of their agencies, including but not
limited to the categories of investigations that will be overseen by each agency
and how to avoid redundancy or operation conflicts. The Memorandum of
Understanding will be approved by the Governor&#8217;s chief of staff and will
be reviewed periodically at the request of either agency, but not less than
every four years, and revised as agreed to by the agencies and endorsed by the
Governor&#8217;s chief of staff.

B. The State Inspector General or investigators as may be designated by him also
shall have the authority to issue summonses for violations of the statutes that
the State Inspector General is required to enforce. In the event a person issued
such a summons fails or refuses to discontinue the unlawful acts or refuses to
give a written promise to appear at the time and place specified in the summons,
the investigator may appear before a magistrate or other issuing authority
having jurisdiction to obtain a criminal warrant pursuant to &#xA7; 19.2-72.

C. All investigators appointed by the State Inspector General are vested with
the authority to administer oaths or affirmations for the purpose of receiving
complaints and conducting investigations of violations of the statutes and
regulations that the State Inspector General is required to enforce. Such
investigators are vested with the authority to obtain, serve, and execute any
warrant, paper, or process issued by any court or magistrate or under the
authority of the State Inspector General, and request and receive criminal
history information under the provisions of &#xA7; 19.2-389.

HISTORY: 2011, cc. 798, 871; 2013, cc. 717, 723.