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Mission: To provide for the safety and security of
individuals who visit and work at the Capitol Complex, and other
State facilities, and to provide that service with a highly trained
and professional work force.
Description
of Division’s Functions:
The Division of Protective Services is
West Virginia
’s newest law enforcement agency and was created by an act of a
special session of the West Virginia State Legislature in July
1998. We are a
highly-trained law enforcement agency specializing in advanced
technological security and policing for the State’s executive,
legislative, judicial, and administrative operations. We are here
not only to protect our elected officials, but all employees,
business persons, and citizens who come to observe their
government at work as well as securing all State facilities.
The Division is perpetually working on designing
sophisticated and innovative methods to improve safety at the
State Capitol Complex, while being cognizant of the fact that it
is “The People’s Building” and take every effort to
safeguard it as such.
The agency performs many and various functions.
Capitol Police Officers deal with assaults, strong-armed
robberies, and all criminal activity occurring on the State
Capitol Complex grounds and within State Capitol Complex
facilities. Officers
are responsible for operating the directed public access points
located in Buildings 3 and 7, patrolling the approximate 55-acre
Capitol Complex, and providing law enforcement services similar to
those found in an urban area as the daily population of the
complex can swell to 10,000 during a legislative setting.
Officers frequently provide law enforcement support to
off-complex agencies in investigating theft, harassment, and
various other crimes. Officers
are available to be present for investigative hearings,
disciplinary hearings, adversarial customer/client interviews, and
other meetings on and off the complex upon request.
The Division conducts training and informational seminars for
State agencies on and off the complex to promote methods to create
a safer working environment and to familiarize employees and
supervisors/managers with policies such as the West Virginia
Division of Personnel’s Workplace Security Policy.
One of our areas of expertise is
assessing and planning security needs for State owned/leased
facilities on and off-campus. The
Division also provides information and support in designing
facilities’ evacuation plans and monitor, as well as critique,
drills and actual emergencies.
The
Division operates a command center which houses monitoring equipment
for a CCTV System. Upon
entering the grounds and buildings of our State Capitol Complex, the
passage of virtually all employees and visitors are monitored by the
strategic placement of security cameras which are monitored 24-hours
per day, seven days per week.
The
Division operates a Medical Dispensary in the
Main
Capitol
Building
that serves the population of the entire complex.
A full-time registered nurse is employed who manages
dispensary operations and serves along with DPS Officers as a first
responder in the event of a medical emergency on the complex.
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