Agency Mission and Vision

The mission of the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services is to provide leadership to improve the criminal justice system in Virginia’s communities through effective training, partnerships, research, regulation, and support.

Our vision is to be the national leader and Virginia's premier criminal justice agency, creating dynamic system-wide solutions for public safety.

Agency Description

The Department of Criminal Justice Services (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 (§9.1-102 of the Code of Virginia). View our 2008 - 2009 Strategic Plan Executive Summary (.pdf, 7 pages).

The Department of Criminal Justice Services:

• conducts research and evaluation on criminal justice issues;
• develops short and long-term criminal justice plans;
• distributes federal and state funding to localities, state agencies and nonprofit organizations in the areas of law enforcement, prosecution, crime and delinquency prevention, juvenile justice, victims services, corrections and information systems;
• provides training, technical assistance and program development services to all segments of the criminal justice system;
• establishes and enforces minimum training standards for law enforcement, criminal justice and private security personnel; and
• licenses and regulates the private security industry in Virginia.

The agency’s primary constituents are local and state criminal justice agencies and practitioners, private agencies, private security practitioners and businesses, and the public-at-large. Other constituents include local governments and state agencies, the federal government and advocacy groups/associations.

DCJS is unique in state government because of its system-wide perspective on criminal justice. While it directs programs and services to each component of the system, it has an overarching responsibility to view the system as a whole, to understand how changes in one part of criminal justice will affect other parts, and to work to assure that plans and programs are comprehensive.

The Department of Criminal Justice Services is one of 14 agencies within the Secretariat of Public Safety. The Criminal Justice Services Board is the Department's policy board. It is comprised of representatives from all aspects of the criminal justice system on both state and local levels of government, and most of its members are appointed by the Governor.

Agency Director

Garth L. Wheeler, Director
Department of Criminal Justice Services
1100 Bank Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219

The Department of Criminal Justice Services is organized under four functional Divisions and the Office of the Director:

Office of the Director is the location of Human Resources and the Criminal Justice Research Center. The Research Center compiles statistics, conducts research and evaluations, and reports on crime and criminal justice issues.

Division of Finance and Administration provides oversight and management of the agency's administrative functions including; Finance, Grants Administration, and Information Technology.

Division of Law Enforcement and Security Services provides oversight and management of law enforcement training rules, regulations, and grant programs directed toward law enforcement agencies. They also provide licensure and regulatory oversight of the Private Security, Bail Bond, and Locksmith industries.

Division of Programs and Services provides oversight and management of agency program areas and grants to Community Corrections and Pre-Trial Services, Victims Services, and Juvenile Services.

Agency Contact Information

• Call us at 804.786.4000
• Write us at:

  Department of Criminal Justice Services
  1100 Bank Street
  Richmond, VA 23219