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2017 SESSION

17103663D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 738
Offered January 12, 2017
Commending Captain Thomas W. Turner.
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Patron-- Stolle
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WHEREAS, Captain Thomas W. Turner began his law-enforcement career in 1966 with the Virginia State Police as a dispatcher for the Richmond Division; and

WHEREAS, one day after his 21st birthday, on September 1, 1967, Thomas Turner joined the Virginia State Police 46th Basic Session and graduated from the Academy on February 18, 1968; and

WHEREAS, during his tenure as trooper, Thomas Turner served in Orange, Manassas, and Williamsburg; on July 1, 1974, he was promoted to the position of investigator and assigned to the Division of Investigations in Waverly; and

WHEREAS, on July 16, 1976, Thomas Turner was promoted to sergeant and assigned to the Richmond Division Headquarters and later the Area 5 Office in Fredericksburg, where he was promoted to first sergeant on July 1, 1982; and

WHEREAS, on April 16, 1985, as a first sergeant, Thomas Turner transferred to the Records and Statistics Division at the State Police Administrative Headquarters in Richmond; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Turner was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in the Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division at the State Police Administrative Headquarters on July 1, 1996, and then division commander on January 10, 2007, of CJIS, which provides critical support and services for the Department of State Police and other criminal justice agencies, government entities, and the people of the Commonwealth and beyond; and

WHEREAS, while serving as the CJIS division commander, Thomas Turner commanded the largest division within the Department of State Police with 252 employees and oversaw all aspects of the Central Criminal Records Exchange, the Virginia Criminal Information Network, the Sex Offender Registry, the Firearms Transaction Center, the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), and numerous other critical information systems and services for criminal justice purposes; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Turner provided extraordinary leadership in the development of one of the nation’s leading sex offender registries, which serves as a ready resource for law enforcement agencies and the community; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Turner’s exceptional leadership enabled the establishment of the Virginia Firearms Transaction Center, which is a model, nationally-recognized program that promotes the speedy transfer of firearms to eligible persons while maintaining an impressive record of preventing prohibited individuals from purchasing or possessing a firearm; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Turner chaired the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Advisory Policy Board, which makes recommendations to the director regarding policy, technical, and operational issues for the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division programs, including the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Turner has served as chairman and vice-chairman of the Board of Directors for the National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics, chair of the Board of Directors for AFIS and the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System, and vice-chair of the FBI/National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact Council’s Subcommittee on Policy and Procedures; and

WHEREAS, through his dedicated persistence, coupled with his latent print database knowledge, Thomas Turner helped the Norfolk Police Department make inquiries into newly-accessible, non-criminal fingerprint files, which matched a member of the United States Navy and solved a series of rape cases from 2008 - 2010 occurring in Virginia and Kuwait; he earned special recognition by the FBI for his work on the case, which was called the “2015 Biometric Hit of the Year”; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Turner received the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police esteemed 2016 President’s Award in recognition of and appreciation for his expansive subject matter expertise of and contributions to the advancement of criminal justice information and data management; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Turner retired from the Virginia State Police October 1, 2016, with 50 years of superior service to the Commonwealth, leaving a tremendous void in the agency and across Virginia due to his impressive, historical knowledge of criminal justice and his overwhelming desire to serve the Commonwealth; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Captain Thomas W. Turner on the occasion of his retirement from the Virginia State Police; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Captain Thomas W. Turner as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for his contributions to the criminal justice community, as well as his enduring commitment and extraordinary service to the Commonwealth, and best wishes on a well-earned retirement.