"Officers shall provide their name, badge number, and supervisor’s name whenever the person stopped requests the information. All stops of citizens and vehicles shall be
limited to the amount of time necessary to reasonably conduct the officer’s official actions."
"The Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team is under the command and responsibility of Special Operations. All SWAT Team members shall have specialized training in areas that include, less-lethal weapon systems, high risk building searches, tactical breaching, crowd management, rapid deployment, sniper/counter-sniper operations, high-risk vehicle take-downs, bus and airplane interdiction, specialized weapon systems, hostage rescue and barricaded suspects. The SWAT team will conduct operational training exercises at least monthly for the purpose of maintaining skills necessary to respond to tactically demanding incidents."
"The assignment of officers in plainclothes is a frequently utilized and highly effective tool in addressing crime problems in the community. In order to maximize the effectiveness and ensure the safest possible environment for the plainclothes officer, whether on-duty or off, the following guidelines shall be adhered to by all personnel... When encountered in the community, uniformed officers will not acknowledge plainclothes officers, unless the plainclothes officer first acknowledges the uniformed officer."
"All recordings captured on BWC’s are property of the Virginia Beach Police Department and will be treated as evidence. No recordings will be disseminated without the approval of the Police Chief or designee (Internal Affairs) and in compliance with State and Federal dissemination laws, privacy protection, and other applicable laws, including the Virginia Freedom of Information Act."
"Department personnel will not engage in... [a]ny type of social media contact with any person or group that is affiliated with a hate group...
Department personnel will not display Department logos, uniforms, or similar Department identifying items on personal web pages/personal social media sites, except for photos of themselves at official ceremonies such as Promotions, Police Memorial Day or awards ceremonies. For safety and security reasons, Department personnel are discouraged from disclosing their employment with the Department."
"The Virginia Beach Police Department’s (VBPD) ALPR system provides information for use by law enforcement personnel to assist in the detection and apprehension of vehicles of specific interest to law enforcement traveling through the jurisdiction of the City of Virginia Beach. The VBPD utilizes fixed and mobile ALPR technologies. The mobile ALPR technology integrates with the Axon Fleet in-car camera system. Not all vehicles equipped with in-car cameras will have ALPR capabilities.... Alerts generated by mobile ALPR will be displayed to the officer operating the ALPR equipped vehicle. An alert alone is not sufficient to establish probable cause for arrest. An alert alone does not necessarily establish reasonable suspicion to conduct a traffic stop."
This Field Guide was prepared by the Virginia Beach Police Department Internal Affairs Bureau for the use of supervisors. It covers: Methods for Conducting Administrative Investigations, Adjudication and Documentation of Work, Performance and Disciplinary Action, and the Appeal Process.
"The Law Enforcement Officers' Procedural Guarantees are provided for by the Code of Virginia. All Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) certified officers, with the exception of the Police Chief, may select an internal hearing utilizing the Law Enforcement Officers Procedural Guarantees as an alternative to the City of Virginia Beach Grievance Policy and Procedure. The internal hearing utilizing the Law Enforcement Officers Procedural Guarantees is available when a DCJS certified officer is dismissed, demoted, suspended, or transferred for punitive reasons."
"Internal Affairs will generate a Firearms Discharge Review action and ensure the Blue Team use of Force Report is completed. When appropriate a written summary of the response to the Public Safety Statement should be completed by the on-scene supervisor and submitted by the end of the shift.
Internal Affairs will review each report received from commands for content, clarity, and compliance to this General Order. Commands will be responsible for the adjudication of all UOF cases but must consider recommendations made by the UOF Board as outlined below. Once the case is adjudicated by the proper authority, Internal Affairs will finalize the report and capture the data in the IAPro Data Base.
A Use of Force Board will be convened to make recommendations to the Police Chief for any Use of Force that meets... criteria..."
"On May 19, 2021, the City of Virginia Beach and ShotSpotter executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to implement a Pit Program of the ShotSpotter Respond solution. On July 14, 2021, ShotSpotter activated two (2.0) square miles in Precinct 2. Two square miles are currently being deployed in Precinct 3 with a target date for service activation of August 25, 2021...
ShotSpotter will not provide a list or database of the precise location of Sensors to police or the public if requested and will challenge any subpoenas for this location data."
This document was obtained with a FOIA request by Tom Nash in 2022.
The Tappahannock Police Department disclosed 567 pages of its Policy and Procedure Manual to OpenOversight VA in response to a May 2023 FOIA request. Tappahannock is located in Essex County south of the Rappahannock River and slightly northeast of Richmond, Virginia.
In response to FOIA requests from OpenOversight VA, the Town of South Boston Police Department disclosed the names of its 28 employees and released these 455 pages of police department General Orders. South Boston is located in Halifax County, wedged roughly two hours south from both Roanoke and Richmond.
Powhatan County Sherriff Brad Nunnally released these Standard Operating Procedures in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from OpenOversight VA in 2023.