                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

UNIVERSAL CERTIFICATION FOR CERTAIN LAW-ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS (§ 9.1-116.01)

A. Any sworn law-enforcement officer with at least one year of law-enforcement
experience (i) whose training qualifications meet or exceed current training
standards established by the Board in accordance with this article and who is in
compliance with &#xA7;&#xA7; 15.2-1705 and 15.2-1706, (ii) who has not had a
break in service of more than 24 months, and (iii) who is leaving the
transferring law-enforcement agency in good standing with no pending
investigations or disciplinary actions shall be eligible for employment at any
law-enforcement agency within the Commonwealth or any political subdivision
thereof. Any such law-enforcement officer shall complete any other training as
determined to be necessary by the Board to ensure understanding of the criminal
laws and all other laws of the Commonwealth.

B. Prior to any conditional offer of employment, the hiring law-enforcement
agency shall request from all prior employing law-enforcement agencies any
information (i) related to an arrest or prosecution of the applicant
law-enforcement officer, including any expunged arrest or criminal charge known
to the agency or disclosed during the hiring process that would otherwise be
prohibited from disclosure in accordance with &#xA7; 19.2-392.4; (ii) related to
a civil suit regarding the applicant law-enforcement officer&#8217;s employment
or performance of his duties; (iii) obtained during the course of any internal
investigation related to the applicant law-enforcement officer&#8217;s alleged
criminal conduct, use of excessive force, or other official misconduct in
violation of the state professional standards of conduct adopted by the Board;
and (iv) related to the applicant law-enforcement officer&#8217;s job
performance that led to such officer&#8217;s resignation, dismissal, demotion,
suspension, or transfer. The hiring law-enforcement agency shall employ all
reasonable means to obtain personnel records for law-enforcement officers
transferring from an out-of-state or federal law-enforcement agency, including
requiring the applicant law-enforcement officer (a) to complete a waiver or
release liability authorizing the hiring law-enforcement agency to request such
information as listed in this subsection from all prior employing
law-enforcement agencies and (b) to provide a full disclosure of any incidents
or information that such prior employing law-enforcement agencies have been
requested to disclose as listed in this subsection.
			Upon the receipt of all requested information by the hiring law-enforcement
agency, the applicant law-enforcement officer shall complete a sworn declaration
that the provided information or records are, to the best of the
applicant&#8217;s knowledge, a true, correct, and complete response to such
request.

C. In addition, the hiring law-enforcement agency may require a candidate for
employment to undergo a psychological examination, subsequent to a conditional
offer of employment, conducted under the supervision of a licensed psychiatrist
or a licensed clinical psychologist.

D. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, any sworn law-enforcement
officer may be granted an exemption in accordance with the provisions of &#xA7;
9.1-116 and may be subject to the compulsory minimum training standards
established by the Board.

HISTORY: 2024, cc. 542, 581.