United States Department of Veterans Affairs Police - Personnel

Personnel

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Police currently have entry qualifications comparable to other Law enforcement in the United States. All VA Police Officers are required to have either a minimum of two years experience in law enforcement with arrest authority (in federal, state, municipal, or military police), or have a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. Applicants must also undergo a physical abilities test, fingerprinting, physical examination, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) psychological evaluation and background investigation.

Upon selection, VA Police Officers go through a supplementary eight-week training course at the VA Law Enforcement Training Center (LETC) located on Fort Logan H. Roots in Little Rock, Arkansas along side the Eugene J. Towbin Veterans Medical Center. Additionally, VA Police Officers receive continuous in-service and specialized training (Written, Practical, and Scenario based) to include intermediate weapons, tactical and low light firearms, contact and arrest procedures on a regular basis. Officers may also partake in a series of advanced training courses offered by VA LETC on a selective basis to include crime scene investigations, traffic accident investigations, and technical surveillance.

VA Police Officers are certified in CPR (as first responders), the use of Oleoresin Capsicum Pepper spray, the MEB Manadnock Expandable Police Baton, and the Beretta 92D 9mm sidearm. However, the agency is in the process of completing the transition to the SIG Sauer P229 DAK Version (Uniformed Officers) and SIG Sauer P239 DAK Version (Plain clothed Officials/Investigators) chambered in 9 mm. Additionally, measures of additional training were undertaken and implemented by the whole of the VA LETC academy in order to successfully achieve FLETA accreditation, which was officially granted on November 17, 2011. This accreditation placed the academy (and selected courses) on par with other well known federal law enforcement training centers and programs such as Drug Enforcement Administration Office of Training, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), and the U.S. Secret Service James J. Rowley Training Center. The Department of Veterans Affairs Law Enforcement Training Center (LETC) often serves as a training program that is capable of meeting the training requirements for DoD Officers and their respective installations. The Department of the Air Force routinely sends their civilian Police Officers to the VA LETC in an effort to meet or exceed their requirements for base security and law and order operations.

Like the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, the VA Police are not members of the Law Enforcement Retirement System (LERS), and do not enjoy the same retirement benefits as most other federal law enforcement officers (20 years of service and out). Legislation has been proposed several times to change this (H.R. 1002), but the last effort failed to make it out of committee in the 109th Congress. There have been no successful attempts to change this as of the beginning of the 2013 United States Federal Fiscal Year.

Legislation to expand the powers and authority of the Veterans Affairs Police was eventually rolled into the S.1963 - Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010 Bill (proposed law) and was re-introduced in the 111th Congress on Oct 28, 2009. The Bill passed the United States Senate on Nov 19, 2009, passed the United States House of Representatives on Apr 21, 2010, and was signed into law by President Barack Obama on May 5, 2010 becoming Public Law No: 111-163. The GPO (Government Printing Office) has officially published this law in its roles, noting that the law (and therefore the increased uniform allowance and expanded authority of the VA Police to include the ability to conduct investigations, on and off Department property) took legal effect on January 7, 2011.

http://www.osp.va.gov/Law_Enforcement_Training_Center_LETC.asp