West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 149 - Crime, Delinquency And Correction › Title 149 - LEGISLATIVE RULE GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE ON CRIME, DELINQUENCY AND CORRECTION › Series 149-02 - Law Enforcement Training and Certification Standards › Section 149-2-2 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
2.1. "Approved law
				enforcement training academy" means any training facility that is approved and
				authorized by the Law Enforcement Professional Standards Subcommittee, to
				conduct law enforcement training.
2.2. "Chief executive" means the
				superintendent of the West Virginia State Police; the chief Natural Resources
				Police officer of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources; the sheriff
				of any West Virginia County; any administrative deputy appointed by the chief
				Natural Resources Police officer of the West Virginia Division of Natural
				Resources; the chief of any West Virginia municipal law-enforcement agency, or
				the chief of any campus police agency at state institutions of higher
				education.
2.3. "Conviction" means
				an adjudication of guilt or a plea in a criminal case in this state or any
				other municipal, federal, tribal, military or state jurisdiction. "Conviction,"
				when used in this rule applies to convictions entered both before and after the
				effective date of this section.
2.4. "County" means any one of the 55 major
				political subdivisions of the state.
2.5. "Director" or "Director of Training"
				means the person appointed by the head of agency operating an entry level
				training academy to be the person in charge of the operation of that
				academy.
2.6. "Division" or "JCS"
				means the Division of Administrative Services (DAS) Justice and Community
				Services (JCS) Section of the Department of Homeland Security.
2.7. "Exempt rank" means any noncommissioned
				or commissioned rank of sergeant or above as regarding the requirements set
				forth in this rule.
2.8. "Firearms
				Officer" means any individual who has successfully completed a Subcommittee
				approved Law Enforcement Firearms Handgun Instructor course but is not
				certified as a Firearms Instructor as defined in subsection 5.2. of this
				rule.
2.9. "Good standing" means
				any law enforcement officer that has not been denied certification or had his
				or her certification revoked or suspended by the Subcommittee pursuant to the
				provisions of this Rule; except that for the purposes of re-certification
				pursuant to section
				149-2-15 of this Rule only, an
				officer is considered to be in good standing even if his or her certification
				was not renewed for failing to attend mandated in-service training because of
				his or her position as a law enforcement official.
2.10. "Governor's Committee on Crime,
				Delinquency and Correction" or "Governor's Committee" or "Committee" means the
				Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Correction established as a
				state planning agency pursuant to W. Va. Code §
									15-9-1 with duties as set forth in
				W. Va. Code §
									30-29-3 and this Rule.
2.11. "Inactive" as it relates to
				certification means the status of a previously certified officer upon
				separation from employment and prior to reactivation by the subcommittee
				thereby placing the individual in a non-law enforcement status as provided for
				in subsection 2.13. of this section.
2.12. "Law enforcement officer" means any
				duly authorized member of a law enforcement agency who is authorized to
				maintain public peace and order, prevent and detect crime, make arrests and
				enforce the laws of the state or any county or municipality of the state, other
				than parking ordinances, including persons employed as campus police officers
				at state institutions of higher education, those persons employed by the Public
				Service Commission as motor carrier inspectors and weight enforcement officers,
				those persons employed as law enforcement officers at airport authorities and
				those persons employed as resort area rangers at resort area districts.
				Provided that, the term "law-enforcement officer" does not apply to the chief
				executive of any West Virginia law-enforcement agency or any watchman or
				special natural resources police officer.
2.13. "Law enforcement official" means the
				duly appointed chief administrator of a designated law enforcement agency or a
				duly authorized designee.
2.14.
				"Law Enforcement Professional Standards Information System" or "LEPSIS" means
				the electronic database used to track law enforcement officer employment
				status, training, firearms qualification, and certification.
2.15. "Level 1 Instructor" means those
				individuals that have met the criteria established in this rule to conduct
				entry level and in-service training programs.
2.16. "Level 2 Instructor" means those
				individuals that have met the criteria established in this rule to conduct
				instructor level training.
2.17.
				"Municipality" means any incorporated town, village, or city whose boundaries
				lie within the geographic boundaries of the state.
2.18. "Non-law enforcement status" means an
				officer may not wear the uniform of that agency, may not be armed, and will not
				perform the duties of a law enforcement officer as defined in W. Va. Code
				§
									30-29-1 and subsection 8.3. of
				this Rule. An officer in non-law enforcement status shall not present himself
				or herself in any manner that a reasonable person would perceive him or her to
				be a law enforcement officer, except as provided for in state code. This Rule
				does not require an employing agency to create a non-enforcement position for
				applicants who are unable to complete the physical ability test for admission
				to an entry-level training program.
2.19. "Reactivation" as it relates to
				certification means having an officer's status reinstated from inactive
				status.
2.20. "Scholastic failure"
				means the failure of required graded academic examinations or evaluated skill
				courses.
2.21. "Subcommittee" or
				"law enforcement professional standards subcommittee" means the subcommittee of
				the Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Correction established
				pursuant to W. Va. Code §
									30-29-2 with duties as set forth
				in W. Va. Code §
									30-29-3 and this Rule.
2.22. "Trainee" means any individual
				attending an entry level related law enforcement certification training
				program.
2.23. "West Virginia law
				enforcement agency" means any duly authorized state, county or municipal
				organization including any campus police agency at state institutions of higher
				education, airport police authorities, resort area districts or park police
				authorities employing one or more persons whose responsibility is the
				enforcement of law of the state or any county or municipality of this
				state.