HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 121

(By Delegates  Caputo, Miley, Robinson, Miller, Lovejoy, Canestraro, Byrd, Toney, Dean, Rohrbach and Paynter)

[Introduced February 26, 2020]

Requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance study the West Virginia State Police’s increased duties and responsibilities and determine the number of full-time equivalent positions that are needed to meet the statutory mission of statewide enforcement of criminal and traffic laws, with emphasis on providing basic enforcement and citizen protection from criminal depredation throughout the state’s public streets, roads, and highways.

Whereas, The West Virginia State Police has been protecting the citizens of this state since 1919, investigating crimes, traffic accidents, providing crowd control, directing traffic, apprehending sexual predators and those who terrorize our neighborhoods, to ensure that we live in peace; and

Whereas, The West Virginia State Police has seen a decrease in manpower since 2001, when more than 700 troopers protected West Virginia, to currently only employing 615 troopers; and

Whereas, The West Virginia State Police’s duties and responsibilities have continued to grow during that same time period, which have included the sex offenders within the state that are required to register with the West Virginia State Police. In 2001, the sex offender registry had 1,468 sex offenders within the state and this has now grown to over 5,639 offenders, the tracking of which the West Virginia State Police is responsible; and

Whereas, In 2017, there were 833 drug overdose deaths reported in West Virginia involving opioids, making West Virginia the highest age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths involving opioids in the country; and

Whereas, The most recent figures reflect that the West Virginia State Police answered 159,552 calls for service for the citizens of West Virginia in a one-year period; and

Whereas, The Legislature finds that it should take an active role in studying, formulating, and implementing a plan to provide the necessary manpower, equipment, and resources needed for the West Virginia State Police to meet its statutory mission of statewide law enforcement; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance is hereby requested to study the West Virginia State Police’s increased duties and responsibilities and determine the number of full-time equivalent positions that are needed to meet the statutory mission of statewide enforcement of criminal and traffic laws, with emphasis on providing basic enforcement and citizen protection from criminal depredation throughout the state’s public streets, roads and highways; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance report to the Legislature, on the first day of the regular session of the Legislature, 2021, on its findings, conclusions, and recommendations, together with drafts of any legislation to effectuate its recommendations; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the expenses necessary to conduct this study, to prepare a report, and to draft necessary legislation, be paid from legislative appropriations to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance.