§ 19.2-13. Special conservators of the peace; authority; jurisdiction; registration; liability of employers; penalty; report.

A. Upon the submission of an application, which shall include the results of the background investigation conducted pursuant to subsection C,

C. No person shall seek appointment as a special conservator of the peace from a circuit court judge without possessing a valid registration issued by the Department of Criminal Justice Services, except as provided in this section. Applicants for registration may submit an application on or after January 1, 2004. A temporary registration may be issued in accordance with regulations established by the Criminal Justice Services Board while awaiting the results of a state and national fingerprint search. However, no person shall be issued a valid registration or temporary registration until he has (i) complied with, or been exempted from the compulsory minimum training standards as set forth in this section; (ii) submitted his fingerprints on a form provided by the Department to be used for the conduct of a national criminal records search and a Virginia criminal history records search; (iii) submitted the results of a background investigation, performed by any state or local law-enforcement agency, which may, at its discretion, charge a reasonable fee to the applicant and which shall include a review of the applicant’s criminal history records and may include a review of the applicant’s school records, employment records, or interviews with persons possessing general knowledge of the applicant’s character and fitness for such appointment; and (iv) met all other requirements of this article and Board regulations. No person with a criminal conviction for a misdemeanor involving (a) moral turpitude, (b) assault and battery, (c) damage to real or personal property, (d) controlled substances or imitation controlled substances as defined in Article 1 (§ 18.2-247 et seq.) of Chapter 7 of Title 18.2, (e) prohibited sexual behavior as described in Article 7 (§ 18.2-61 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2, or (f) firearms, or any felony, or who is required to register with the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry pursuant to Chapter 9 (§ 9.1-900 et seq.) of Title 9.1, or who is prohibited from possessing, transporting, or purchasing a firearm shall be eligible for registration or appointment as a special conservator of the peace. A special conservator of the peace shall report if he is arrested for, charged with, or convicted of any misdemeanor or felony offense or becomes ineligible for registration or appointment as a special conservator of the peace pursuant to this subsection to the Department of Criminal Justice Services and the chief law-enforcement officer of all localities in which he is authorized to serve within three days of such arrest or of becoming ineligible for registration or appointment as a special conservator of the peace. Any appointment for a special conservator of the peace shall be eligible for suspension and revocation after a hearing pursuant to subsection A if the special conservator of the peace is convicted of any offense listed in this subsection or becomes ineligible for registration or appointment as a special conservator of the peace pursuant to this subsection. All appointments for special conservators of the peace shall become void on September 15, 2004, unless they have obtained a valid registration issued by the Department of Criminal Justice Services.

 

Information:

A completed background investigation is required in order to submit an application for appointment (CC-1430) to the Circuit Court. This should be attached to the original application. A background investigation is generally defined by the above legal sections. This aspect of the appointing process has caused many people great confusion. A completed background investigation shall include a review of the applicants criminal history, if any. A great resource to satisfy this requirement is the Virginia State Police. The form (SP-167) must be filled out and notarized by the applicant, and mailed to V.S.P. along with payment. The turn around time was approximately two (2) weeks. This background investigation covers the entire Commonwealth of Virginia compared to someone requesting a background check from their local police or sheriff’s office which they will tell you, only covers their specific jurisdiction, generally speaking. If some aspect of an individuals background is not clear to the Court, the Court retains the ability to order a law enforcement agency of the Commonwealth to examine an applicant’s school records, or employment records, or conduct interviews with people who may know the applicant.

What’s with all the redundancy in background checks? Good question, as you know in order to submit an application to the court an applicant would have had to already clear the FBI national check, pass the drug screening, and submit the results of a state or local check as well. This is on top of the background check that an applicant most likely had to undergo as part of the agency/department/businesses hiring process. Once appointed, the screening process does not stop, and is required on an annual basis as part of maintaining a valid registration/certification with D.C.J.S. The end product should result in some of the most vetted people in the Commonwealth of Virginia.