The Code of Virginia (§9.1-102(25)) directs the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) to develop a “comprehensive, statewide, long-range plan for strengthening and improving law enforcement and the administration of criminal justice throughout the Commonwealth.”

As the Commonwealth’s primary criminal justice planning and policy agency, DCJS designed the plan to identify critical, system-wide criminal justice issues, serve as a framework for short and long-range decision-making, and guide more detailed analysis and planning. The Plan is intended to provide the Secretary of Public Safety and other criminal justice policy-makers with objective recommendations for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the criminal justice system as a system.

The criminal justice issues included in the statewide plan were selected based on a comprehensive assessment of needs and priorities identified by local and state criminal justice professionals from all regions of Virginia. This assessment, “Setting a Course for the Future of the Criminal Justice System in Virginia: Environmental Scan,” provided the basis for the Plan. Click here to view the Criminal Justice System Environmental Scan.

The Criminal Justice Plan, "Setting a Course for the Future of the Criminal Justice System in Virginia: Virginia’s Statewide Criminal Justice Plan," is currently undergoing final review. When the review is completed, the plan will be published on the DCJS website.

If you have any questions about the Criminal Justice Plan, please contact Jim McDonough.