Privacy protected and confidential information is restricted from public access for 75 years per Code of Virginia 42.1-78. Medical records will be open 125 years after the date of creation or after date closed, whichever is later. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires that individually identifiable health information of a decedent be protected for 50 years following the date of death of the individual (45 CFR 164.502(f)). When possible, privacy-protected information has been redacted. If redaction was not an option, the entire document was sealed, but not removed from the collection. Sealed information may include, but is not limited to: attorney-client privileged documents, medical information, social security numbers, proprietary information, Department of Corrections inmate classification material, and Parole Board review documents. Attorney-client privileged documents are closed indefinitely.
There are no restrictions.
Records of the Virginia Office of the Secretary of Public Safety, 2000-2006 (bulk 2002-2005). Accession 42405, State records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.
Transferred by Iva B. Frizzell, Office of the Secretary of Public Safety, 1111 E. Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, 12 January 2006.
In 1970, the Governor's Management Commission Study recommended the creation of six "Deputy Governors" to assist the Chief Executive in his managerial duties. Compatible functions of government were grouped under these administrative heads, who would serve as the Governor's top management team.
The office of the Secretary of Transportation and Public Safety was created on April 8, 1972. Originally, the Secretary of Transportation and Public Safety oversaw the State Highway Commission, Division of Motor Vehicles, Department of State Police, Highway Safety Division, Office of Emergency Services, Department of Military Affairs, Virginia State Crime Commission, and the Law Enforcement Officers Training Standards Commission. Since that time, the Office has undergone a series of administrative reorganizations. On April 12, 1976, the Legislature established separate secretariats for transportation and public safety, effective July 1, 1976. On July 1, 1984, the offices were again combined. Finally, the two became separate offices on February 22, 1990, and have remained separate in the years since.
The Secretary of Public Safety is a member of the Governor's Cabinet, is appointed by the governor, and is subject to confirmation by the General Assembly. Throughout Governor Mark R. Warner's term (2002-2006), the Secretary of Public Safety was responsible for the direction of, or had jurisdiction over, 11 state agencies and boards. The agencies and boards under the heading of the Secretary of Public Safety during the Warner administration are as follows: Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, Commonwealth's Attorneys' Services Council, Department of Correctional Education, Department of Corrections, Department of Criminal Justice Services, Department of Emergency Management, Department of Fire Programs, Department of Juvenile Justice, Department of Military Affairs, the Virginia Parole Board, and the Virginia State Police.
On December 20, 2001, Governor Mark R. Warner appointed John W. Marshall as his Secretary of Public Safety. Prior to taking this position, Marshall had served as a trooper, special agent, training academy instructor, and sergeant with the Virginia State Police. In 1994, President William J. Clinton appointed Marshall to serve as the United States Marshal for the Eastern District of Virginia. In 1999, he was nominated to serve as director of the United States Marshals Service. He was the first African-American to hold this position.
On December 29, 2001, Governor Warner appointed Robert P. Crouch, Jr. as Chief Deputy Secretary of Public Safety. Later, in March 2002, Barry R. Green was appointed to serve as Deputy Secretary, and Marilyn P. Harris was appointed to serve as Assistant Secretary of Public Safety, as well as the Director of the Governor's Office for Substance Abuse Prevention (GOSAP). In April 2002, Dawn Smith was also asked to serve as an Assistant Secretary, a position she held throughout the four-year term. Crouch left in May 2005 to become Counselor to the Governor, and Green left in June 2005 to take over as Director of the Department of Juvenile Justice. Harris was then appointed as Deputy Secretary, and served in that position until the end of Governor Warner's term.
Information about this office is also available in the archived website files of the Office of the Secretary of Public Safety, (2005-2006). They can be found by searching the Library of Virginia's catalog using "Secretary of Public Safety" as the subject.
Constituent and internal correspondence, decision briefs, legislative files, speeches, and other working papers and records created and collected by the Office of the Secretary of Public Safety during the gubernatorial term of Virginia Governor Mark R. Warner, 2002-2006. This collection consists of 11 records series which document the activities of the Office of the Secretary of Public Safety, as well as the agencies and boards which fall under its heading.
This collection is arranged into the following series:
This series contains files composed of correspondence (constituent and internal), along with supporting material such as reports, proposals, and other working papers. Several state agencies and boards operated under the Office of the Secretary of Public Safety during the Warner Administration. They are as follows: the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, the Commonwealth's Attorneys' Services Council, the Department of Correctional Education, the Department of Corrections, the Department of Criminal Justice Services, the Department of Emergency Management, the Department of Fire Programs, the Department of Forensic Science, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Military Affairs, the Parole Board, and the Virginia State Police.
The correspondence files contain mostly correspondence between the agencies and the Office of the Secretary of Public Safety regarding issues affecting that particular department or board. References to budgetary matters, status reports, assessments, mandates, and requests for approval of reports, speeches and appearances are frequently found in this material. These files also provide supporting documentation and background information on many topics. Researchers interested in a particular issue should also utilize the Historical Records series because it contains correspondence as well.
The files are arranged alphabetically by the name of the department or board, then chronologically within.
Contains the monthly appointment calendars of John W. Marshall, Secretary of Public Safety.
Arranged chronologically by month.
Contains constituent correspondence pertaining to all agencies and boards overseen by the Office of the Secretary of Public Safety. Most of the letters were originally addressed to Governor Warner, but were assigned to the Secretary of Public Safety for response based on their subject matter. A large number of letters pertain to prisoners held by the Department of Corrections. In many cases family members wrote to the Governor for assistance in obtaining pardons, granting parole, and conducting investigations. Other topics included in the correspondence include gun control legislation, budget shortfalls in terms of the Pre-Release and Post-Incarceration Services (PAPIS), Substance Abuse Reduction Effort (SABRE), and drug court programs. Additional subjects include the implementation of a Virginia Amber Alert system, the D.C. sniper situation, Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) issues, the Roger Coleman DNA case, the "no parole" law, and hurricane/disaster relief. Correspondence from 2002 makes up a little more than half of the material. This series contains restricted information that has either been redacted or sealed. The material may include, but is not limited to, medical records, social security numbers, Department of Corrections inmate classification material, and Parole Board review documents.
The files are arranged by the system number generated by the Governor's Office, which puts the letters in very rough chronological order. Researchers interested in a particular topic or agency should also utilize the Agency Correspondence and Historical Records series because they contain correspondence, as well as supporting documentation.
Contains decision briefs sent to the Governor that were prepared by agencies under the heading of the Secretary of Public Safety, as well as many briefs prepared by outside agencies that would potentially affect agencies under the Public Safety heading. All of the briefs contain a request, a recommendation, evidence of agency head concurrence, and approval or disapproval by the Governor. The decision briefs are often in the form of packets that contain additional supporting documentation and email communication. Notable topics include budgetary matters, disaster assistance and planning, and agency consolidation.
The decision briefs are arranged chronologically by the date of submission by the requesting agency.
Contains material pertaining to federal grant money allocated to agencies under the heading of the Secretary of Public Safety. The various branches of the Department of Criminal Justice Services received many of the grants. This series includes information on funding under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (2002), the State Incentive Enhancement Grant (SIG) (2003), and the Virginia Services, Training, Officers, Prosecution (V-STOP) Violence Against Women grant program (2003). Also included is information on the funding of programs under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act (2004 and 2005), the State Homeland Security Grant program (2004), the Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program (2005), and the Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program (LETPP) (2005).
The files are arranged chronologically.
Contains material pertaining to various public safety issues that garnered attention during the Warner Administration. The files contain correspondence (constituent and internal), reports, press material, notes, and other working papers associated with each topic. Topics include: Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) privatization, the Amber Alert system, the murder of convicted sex offender Richard A. Ausley, the Bias-Based Policing Advisory Panel (racial profiling), the Corrections Facility Task Force (prison closings), the DUI Task Force, gang activity, hurricanes and storms (such as Isabel and Gaston), narcotics enforcement, the Washington D.C. area sniper attacks, and the Virginia Citizen Soldier Support Council. The records served as subject files compiled by the Office of the Secretary of Public Safety for reference purposes. The records contain an abundance of behind-the-scenes commentary on some of the biggest issues of Governor Warner's term. The two largest categories are the files pertaining to the Bias-Based Policing Advisory Panel and the Corrections Facility Task Force.
The topics are arranged alphabetically, as are the folder titles within each category. The type of arrangement varies within each folder, but is usually chronological. The majority of the historical records are comprised of various types of correspondence. In most cases, constituent and internal correspondence are mixed together, and arranged chronologically. However, in some cases they are arranged differently. For example, the correspondence for the Corrections Facility Task Force that was submitted directly to the Office of the Secretary of Public Safety is labeled "loose," and is arranged chronologically. The letters submitted to the Governor's Office that were rerouted to the Office of the Secretary of Public Safety are filed according to their outgoing system number. The internal correspondence folders are arranged chronologically, and contain email messages, letters, and memos sent between employees of the Secretary of Public Safety. Additionally, an introductory video for members of the Biased-Based Policing Advisory Panel is boxed separately from the paper files in box 51. Researchers interested in correspondence should also utilize the Agency Correspondence and Constituent Correspondence series.
Contains legislative action summaries, enrolled bill reviews, financial impact statements, and other miscellaneous legislation-related documents which explain in detail various bills brought before and voted upon by both the Senate and the House of Delegates. The Secretary of Public Safety was tapped by the Governor to respond to all General Assembly activity involving the agencies and boards assigned to his office. Decisions were reached with the aid of agency heads with working knowledge of how legislation might affect the agency's ability to operate. Most of the files contain legislative action summaries which include whether the Secretary supported the bill, supported it with amendment, opposed the bill, or took no position on it. The summaries often contain comments and reasons for support or opposition. The files for bills that were not killed in committee or withdrawn also contain enrolled bill reviews, which summarize the bill and the number votes for passage achieved by the House and Senate. The reviews also include notations as to whether the Governor should sign, ask to amend, or to veto the bill. Most files contain a full text version of the bill and any changes that were made to it as it progressed through the General Assembly. Some files contain fiscal impact statements which detail the monetary affect any legislation might have on certain agencies, as well as general agency impact analysis. Others also contain internal correspondence related to that particular bill. Also included in this series are files pertaining to various aspects of the legislation process such as bill tracking, carryover legislation, and legislative proposals. The proposals are submitted in the months prior to the January start of the Legislative Session, so the dates may differ slightly. Proposals for the following year are placed with the later files (e.g., 2005 proposals were written in late 2004, but are kept with the 2005 legislative files). This also applies to material created in late 2001 for use during the 2002 Legislative Session.
Files are arranged chronologically by year, then by bill number. House bills are first, Senate bills are second, and joint bills are third. Miscellaneous files are arranged alphabetically by title at the end of each year.
Contains correspondence and scheduling material related to events and speaking engagements attended by Secretary of Public Safety, John Marshall. Most of this series is comprised of event correspondence, both internal and external, regarding Secretary Marshall's public appearances.
The public relations files are arranged alphabetically by folder title, and chronologically within.
Contains correspondence files kept by the Secretary of Public Safety during the administration of Governor Mark R. Warner. These files are different than the constituent correspondence, though they do contain some correspondence between the Secretary and various constituents. Most of the constituent letters are in regard to Department of Corrections inmates and the activities of the Parole Board. This series also contains internal correspondence and memos between the Secretary and other state agencies, as well as agencies within the Public Safety secretariat, and members of the Public Safety office itself. This series contains restricted information that has either been redacted or sealed. The material may include, but is not limited to, medical records, social security numbers, Department of Corrections inmate classification material, and Parole Board review documents.
The Secretary's correspondence is arranged alphabetically, and is chronologically reversed within each folder. If there are multiple folders for one letter, each folder is individually numbered (e.g., 1 of 3, 2 of 3, 3 of 3). The first folder for any letter will contain the latest correspondence and the last folder will contain the earliest.
Contains files pertaining to various projects and programs with which the Office of the Secretary of Public Safety was involved, both inside and outside of the Secretariat. The files contain reports, correspondence, minutes, notes, and other working documents. Information on a variety of Public Safety initiatives such as KIDSafe Virginia, the Statewide Agencies Radio System (STARS), and the Drug Offender Screening, Assessment and Treatment Initiative can be found in this series. Also included are files pertaining to various committees, task forces, and working groups devoted to public safety issues such as those devoted to offender forecasting, the Civil Commitment Working Group, the Sex Offender Task Force, and the Governor's Youth Public Safety Advisory Council (GYPSAC). A large number of files pertain to issues involving the Department of Corrections such as those devoted to offender population statistics, community corrections, and the inmate telephone system. Finally, this series also contains studies conducted by or on behalf of public safety agencies and groups, as well as several Public Safety-related reports. This series contains restricted information that has either been redacted or sealed. The material may include, but is not limited to, attorney-client privileged documents and proprietary information.
The project/program files are arranged into the following alphabetically arranged categories: Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, Commonwealth's Attorneys' Services Council, Committees/Task Forces/Working Groups, Department of Corrections, Department of Criminal Justice Services, the Criminal Sentencing Commission, Initiatives, Department of Juvenile Justice, Legislation, Multi-Agency Projects, Department of State Police, and Studies/Reports. The individual files are arranged alphabetically or chronologically within.
Contains print-outs of speeches given by Secretary of Public Safety John Marshall. Secretary Marshall spoke at a variety of events, most notably police academy graduations, drug court graduations, public safety conferences, and memorial services.
The speeches are arranged by year, and alphabetically within each year. The speeches are alphabetized either by the title of the speech, by the title of the event, or by the title of the association or group hosting the event.