Crime Prevention | Public Safety

The Department of Criminal Justice Services provides comprehensive planning and state-of-the-art technical and support services for the criminal justice system to improve  the functioning and effectiveness of the criminal justice system and to promote public safety in the Commonwealth.



The Law Enforcement Services Section provides policy, planning, technical, financial, crime prevention, agency accreditation, homeland security and other support services to Virginia's law enforcement community.



The department (1) distributes federal and state funds to localities, state agencies and nonprofit organizations in the area of law enforcement, prosecution, crime and delinquency prevention, juvenile justice, victims services, corrections and information systems; (2) establishes and enforces training standards for law enforcement; (3) licenses and regulates the private security industry in Virginia; (4) conducts research and evaluations.