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2018 SESSION
18102099DBe it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 15.2-1705 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 15.2-1705. Minimum qualifications; waiver.
A. The chief of police and all police officers of any
locality, all deputy sheriffs and jail officers in this Commonwealth, and all
law-enforcement officers as defined in § 9.1-101 who enter upon the duties of
such office after July 1, 1994, are required to meet the following minimum
qualifications for office. Such person shall (i) be a citizen of the United
States, (ii) be required to undergo a background investigation including
fingerprint-based criminal history records inquiries to both the Central
Criminal Records Exchange and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, (iii) have a
high school education or have passed a high school equivalency examination
approved by the Board of Education, (iv) possess a valid driver's license if
required by the duties of office to operate a motor vehicle, (v) subsequent to a conditional offer of employment,
undergo a physical examination, subsequent to a
conditional offer of employment, conducted under the
supervision of a licensed physician and a psychological
examination conducted under the supervision of a licensed
psychiatrist or psychologist, (vi) be at least eighteen 18
years of age, (vii) not have been convicted of or pled guilty or no contest to
a felony or any offense that would be a felony if committed in the
Commonwealth, and (viii) not have produced a positive result on a
pre-employment drug screening, if such screening is required by the hiring
law-enforcement agency or jail, where the positive result cannot be explained
to the law-enforcement agency or jail administrator's satisfaction. In
addition, all such officers who enter upon the duties of such office on or
after July 1, 2013, shall not have been convicted of or pled guilty or no
contest to (a) any misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, including but not
limited to petit larceny under § 18.2-96, or any offense involving moral
turpitude that would be a misdemeanor if committed in the Commonwealth, (b) any
misdemeanor sex offense in the Commonwealth, another state, or the United
States, including but not limited to sexual battery under § 18.2-67.4 or
consensual sexual intercourse with a minor 15 or older under clause (ii) of §
18.2-371, or (c) domestic assault under § 18.2-57.2 or any offense that would
be domestic assault under the laws of another state or the United States.
B. Upon request of a sheriff or chief of police, or the director or chief executive of any agency or department employing law-enforcement officers as defined in § 9.1-101, or jail officers as defined in § 53.1-1, the Department of Criminal Justice Services is hereby authorized to waive the requirements for qualification as set out in subsection A of this section for good cause shown.