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Sheriff Reed Appointed to State ABC Review Panel

   Written by on May 8, 2015 at 10:46 am

Recently Sheriff Wesley Reed of the Prince Edward County Sheriff’s Office was appointed by Governor Terry McAuliffe to serve on an Expert Review Panel with representatives of local and campus law enforcement agencies and Sheriff’s Offices,  Commonwealth Attorneys, the Governor’s Policy Advisor on Law Enforcement for ABC, the Chief Operating Office of the ABC, the Director of the Department of Criminal Justice Services and such other individuals representing relevant stakeholder groups, as he may deem appropriate in order to review the agency’s mission, structure, policies and training and make recommendations regarding any identified changes needed.

The purpose of this panel is to assist with improving the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control Initiative. Under Executive Order 40 signed by McAuliffe, the selected panel will review concerns about ABC law enforcement that came to light from an ABC arrest in Charlottesville in which a student was injured. The State Police has been ordered by McAuliffe to conduct an independent investigation of the incident.

Sheriff Wesley Reed and other law enforcement representatives appointed by the Governor will take steps to review broader concerns about ABC law enforcement by reviewing the components of Executive Order 40 which seeks to:

• Require more training for all ABC special agents in the areas on use of force, cultural diversity, effective interaction with youth and young adults, and community policing.

• Improve accountability and oversight by requiring that the ABC Bureau of Law Enforcement will now report to the Chief Operating Officer of the ABC, who is responsible for the day-to-day management of all agency functions.

• Examine the need for additional steps by directing the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to convene an expert review panel to report to the Governor on the agency’s mission, structure, policies and training and make recommendations regarding any identified changes needed.

• Improve cooperation and communication with local communities and Virginia colleges and universities by directing the ABC to engage with communities that are home to state institutions of higher education about its enforcement role in each locality. The ABC will update or enter into agreements that delineate an agreed-upon enforcement role for the ABC that is in cooperation with each community’s law enforcement approach.

The purpose of the initiative is to further the mission of the Governor’s Office which states that “keeping Virginia families and communities safe is the highest responsibility of the Governor and state government. We also have a responsibility to ensure that agencies charged with public safety have the training, resources and oversight they need to do their jobs professionally and in a way that promotes and protects the public trust” (McAuliffe, 2015).

Governor McAuliffe appointed Sheriff Wesley Reed to the Expert Panel because he is the Chief Law Enforcement Agent of Prince Edward County which has two major universities. The first meeting will be held May 4, 2015. How long he is expected to serve on the panel is unknown. Sheriff Wesley Reed stated that it was an honor to be asked by the Governor to sit on the panel.

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