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2000 SESSION


CHAPTER 426
An Act to amend and reenact § 9-169 of the Code of Virginia, relating to definition of "criminal justice agency."
[H 1106]
Approved April 4, 2000

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 9-169 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 9-169. Definitions.

The following words, whenever used in this chapter, or in Chapter 23 (§ 19.2-387 et seq.) of Title 19.2, shall have the following meanings, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. "Administration of criminal justice" means performance of any activity directly involving the detection, apprehension, detention, pretrial release, post-trial release, prosecution, adjudication, correctional supervision, or rehabilitation of accused persons or criminal offenders or the collection, storage, and dissemination of criminal history record information.

2. "Board" means the Criminal Justice Services Board.

3. "Criminal justice agency" means (i) a court or any other governmental agency or subunit thereof which as its principal function performs the administration of criminal justice and any other agency or subunit thereof which performs criminal justice activities, but only to the extent that it does so and (ii) for the purposes of Chapter 23 of Title 19.2, any private corporation or agency which, within the context of its criminal justice activities employs officers appointed under § 15.2-1737, or special conservators of the peace or special policemen appointed under Chapter 2 (§ 19.2-12 et seq.) of Title 19.2, provided that (a) such private corporation or agency requires its officers, special conservators or special policemen to meet compulsory training standards established by the Criminal Justice Services Board and submits reports of compliance with the training standards and (b) the private corporation or agency complies with the provisions of Article 3 (§ 9-184 et seq.) of Chapter 27 of this title 9 but only to the extent that the private corporation or agency so designated as a "criminal justice agency" performs criminal justice activities. "Criminal justice agency" includes any program certified by the Commission on VASAP pursuant to § 18.2-271.2.

4. "Criminal history record information" means records and data collected by criminal justice agencies on adult individuals consisting of identifiable descriptions and notations of arrests, detentions, indictments, informations, or other formal charges, and any disposition arising therefrom. The term shall not include juvenile record information which is controlled by Chapter 11 (§ 16.1-226 et seq.) of Title 16.1, criminal justice intelligence information, criminal justice investigative information, or correctional status information.

5. "Correctional status information" means records and data concerning each condition of a convicted person's custodial status, including probation, confinement, work release, study release, escape, or termination of custody through expiration of sentence, parole, pardon, or court decision.

6. "Criminal justice information system" means a system including the equipment, facilities, procedures, agreements, and organizations thereof, for the collection, processing, preservation, or dissemination of criminal history record information. The operations of the system may be performed manually or by using electronic computers or other automated data processing equipment.

7. "Department" means the Department of Criminal Justice Services.

8. "Dissemination" means any transfer of information, whether orally, in writing, or by electronic means. The term does not include access to the information by officers or employees of a criminal justice agency maintaining the information who have both a need and right to know the information.

9. "Law-enforcement officer" means any full-time or part-time employee of a police department or sheriff's office which is a part of or administered by the Commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof, and who is responsible for the prevention and detection of crime and the enforcement of the penal, traffic or highway laws of this Commonwealth, and shall include any special agent of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, any police agent appointed under the provisions of § 56-353, any officer of the Virginia Marine Patrol, any game warden who is a full-time sworn member of the enforcement division of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, any agent, investigator, or inspector appointed under § 56-334 or any investigator who is a full-time sworn member of the security division of the State Lottery Department. Part-time employees are compensated officers who are not full-time employees as defined by the employing police department or sheriff's office. Full-time sworn members of the enforcement division of the Department of Motor Vehicles meeting the Department of Criminal Justice Services qualifications shall be deemed to be "law-enforcement officers" when fulfilling their duties pursuant to § 46.2-217.

10. "Conviction data" means information in the custody of any criminal justice agency relating to a judgment of conviction, and the consequences arising therefrom, in any court.