On July 1, 2020, the Community Policing Act (Virginia House Bill 1250) took effect. This law requires all Virginia law enforcement agencies to collect and report certain information from drivers during any motor vehicle traffic or investigatory stop. Some of this data was already collected by Culpeper Police Department for annual analysis, based on arrests and issued Virginia Uniformed Summons.

The Culpeper Police Department will comply with all of the requirements of this law. All of our officers have been trained on the new law’s requirements and our collection practices. Compliance with this new law may result in an officer asking a driver additional questions during the traffic stop or investigatory stop. The Community Policing Act mandates the collection and reporting of the following data, based upon the officer’s observation or information provided by the driver:

•           The race, ethnicity, age, and gender of the person stopped;

•           The reason for the stop;

•           The location of the stop;

•           Whether a warning or citation were issued or a person arrested;

•           The warning provided, the violation charged, or the crime charged;

•           Whether the vehicle and/or any person were search.

“The Culpeper Police Department will continue its commitment to the fair and unbiased treatment of all of our citizens,” Chief Chris Jenkins said. “We are always working to hold ourselves accountable to the highest professional standards and towards maintaining our transparency to our community. We support the Community Policing Act and will fully comply with its mandates.”