The Virginia State Police is a state agency, conceived in 1919 and established in 1932, that acts as the state police force for the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The agency originated out of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles as an inspector and enforcer of highway laws. It is currently one of fourteen agencies within the Cabinet Secretariat of Public Safety, under the leadership of Marla Decker, who succeeded John W. Marshall, a former State Police trooper and U.S. Marshal, as Secretary in January 2010.
Read more about Virginia State Police: Organizational Structure, Uniform and Equipment, Rank Structure, Fallen Officers
Famous quotes containing the words state and/or police:
“A work in progress quickly becomes feral. It reverts to a wild state overnight. It is barely domesticated, a mustang on which you one day fastened a halter, but which now you cannot catch. It is a lion you cage in your study. As the work grows, it gets harder to control; it is a lion growing in strength. You must visit it every day and reassert your mastery over it. If you skip a day, you are, quite rightly, afraid to open the door to its room.”
—Annie Dillard (b. 1945)
“He took control of me for forty-five minutes. This time I’ll have control over him for the rest of his life. If he gets out fifteen years from now, I’ll know. I’ll check on him every three months through police computers. If he makes one mistake he’s going down again. I’ll make sure. I’m his worst enemy now.”
—Elizabeth Wilson, U.S. crime victim. As quoted in People magazine, p. 88 (May 31, 1993)