Chapter 15, Chapter 15

(a) The surviving spouse, the dependent child or children or dependent parent or parents of any employee who has lost or shall lose his or her life by reason of injury, illness or disease resulting from an occupational risk or hazard inherent in or peculiar to the service require…

(a) The West Virginia State Police shall have the mission of statewide enforcement of criminal and traffic laws with emphasis on providing basic enforcement and citizen protection from criminal depredation throughout the state and maintaining the safety of the state's public stre…

(a) In any case where an employee while in active service of the agency, before having completed twenty years of service as an employee of the agency, dies from any cause other than those specified in this article and not due to vicious habits, intemperance or willful misconduct …

(a) No member of the West Virginia state police may in any way interfere with the rights or property of any person except for the prevention of crime. (b) No member of the State Police may in any way become active or take part in any political contest or at any time participate i…

(a) Any person who neglects or refuses to do or perform any act on his or her part to be done or performed in connection with the operation of this article is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $50 nor more than $200 or be imprison…

(a) A person convicted of a felony currently serving a term of imprisonment may make a written motion before the trial court that entered the judgment of conviction for performance (DNA) testing. (b) (1) An indigent convicted person may request appointment of counsel to prepare a…

The superintendent and each of the other members of the department of public safety, before entering upon the discharge of his duties, shall take and subscribe to an oath which shall be in form and effect as follows, to wit: State of West Virginia, County of .....................…

(a) When any employee of the agency has completed twenty years of service or longer as an employee of the agency and dies from any cause or causes other than those specified in this article before having been retired by the board and when a retirant has died or dies after having …

For persons convicted after July 1, 2011, a mandatory fee of $150, which is in addition to any other costs imposed pursuant to statutory authority, shall automatically be assessed on any person convicted of, or adjudicated delinquent for, a qualifying offense, unless the court fi…

(a) The superintendent shall maintain a special unit of the State Police called the Child Abuse and Neglect Investigations Unit. The purpose of the unit is to focus on identifying, investigating, and prosecuting criminal child abuse and neglect cases, in coordination with Child P…

The moneys in the fund and the right of a member or retirant to a retirement allowance, to the return of contributions or to any benefit under the provisions of this article are hereby exempt from any state or municipal tax; are not subject to execution, garnishment, attachment o…

The division may use the data in the DNA database for partial match analysis for criminal investigations of murder, kidnapping and first and second degree sexual assault, as defined in this code, where all investigated leads have been exhausted. The division shall follow the stan…

Any person who knowingly makes any false statement or who falsifies or permits to be falsified any record or records of the retirement system in any attempt to defraud that system is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $1,000, …

Any person who shall at any time intercept, molest or interfere with any officer or member of the department of public safety while on duty, or any state, county or municipal officer or person then under the charge and direction of some officer or member of the department of publ…

When any surviving spouse of a member or retirant dies or remarries while receiving or being entitled to receive any benefits under any section except section twelve of this article, the surviving spouse may not from the date of his or her remarriage, nor may the estate from the …

Every person who is not a member of the department is hereby forbidden to wear, use, order to be used or worn, copy or imitate in any respect or manner the uniform, badge, insignia and equipment prescribed for members of the West Virginia State Police, and any person who shall vi…

(a) Any officer or member of the State Police who demands or receives from any person, firm or corporation any money or other thing of value as a consideration for the performance of, or the failure to perform, his or her duties under the rules of the superintendent and the provi…

The board may continue payments of a surviving spouse's entitlement in full to any dependent child who continues to be dependent by reason of mental or physical incapacity as determined by the board, notwithstanding the age of the dependent child or other provisions of this artic…

(a) Any member who has previously served on active military duty is entitled to receive additional credited service for the purpose of determining the amount of retirement award under the provisions of this article for a period equal to the active military duty not to exceed five…

If any person, firm or corporation shall give or offer to give any money or other thing of value to any officer or member of the department of public safety as a consideration for the performance of, or the failure to perform, any duty of such officer or member of the department …

The Department of Public Safety, heretofore established, shall be continued and hereafter shall be known as the West Virginia State Police. Wherever the words "Department of Public Safety" or "Division of Public Safety" appear in this code, they shall mean the West Virginia State…

It is the policy of this state to assist federal, state, and local criminal justice and law-enforcement agencies in the identification, detection, and exclusion of individuals who are subjects of the investigation or prosecution of violent crimes, sex-related crimes, and other cr…

(a) The state facilities protection division within the Department of Homeland Security shall hereafter be designated the Division of Protective Services. The purpose of the division is to provide safety and security at the capitol complex and other state facilities: Provided, Th…

(a) The Criminal Identification Bureau of the West Virginia State Police shall establish a Central Abuse Registry, to contain information relating to criminal convictions involving child abuse or neglect, abuse or neglect of an incapacitated adult or an adult receiving behavioral…

Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, the superintendent is authorized to establish and operate a post exchange at the State Police academy.

(1) "Accumulated contributions" means the sum of all amounts deducted from base salary, together with four percent interest compounded annually. (2) "Active military duty" means full-time active duty with the armed forces of the United States, namely, the United States Air Force,…

The superintendent may transfer members to meet the operational needs of the department. A transfer may not be made as a disciplinary measure. Whenever any member of the department is to be transferred from one station to another station, for a period of time in excess of sixty d…

If the retirement system is terminated or contributions are completely discontinued, the rights of all members to benefits accrued or contributions made to the date of such termination or discontinuance, to the extent then funded, are not forfeited.

(a) For purposes of this section, an annual leave or sick leave day shall be the equivalent of eight hours of leave. (b) Any member accruing annual leave or sick leave days may, after April 9, 2005, elect to use the days at the time of retirement to acquire additional credited se…

The superintendent may suspend, demote in rank or discharge from the service any member of the department of public safety for any of the following causes: Refusing to obey the lawful orders of his superior officer, neglect of duty, drunkenness, immorality, inefficiency, abuse of…

(a) The Attorney General may, upon request of the superintendent, assign an assistant Attorney General to the department. (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of section one, article three, chapter five of this code, the superintendent may authorize any member of the department to …

(a) The state will not increase any existing benefits or create any new benefits for any retirees or beneficiaries currently receiving monthly benefit payments from the system, other than an increase in benefits or new benefits effected by operation of law in effect on the effect…

(a) General rule. — Upon learning of any errors, the board shall correct errors in the retirement system in a timely manner whether the individual, entity or board was at fault for the error with the intent of placing the affected individual, entity and retirement board in the po…

The superintendent of the department of public safety is authorized from time to time to collect statistics and distribute information throughout the state, and in this to cooperate with the state superintendent of public schools and other educational agencies of the state, to se…

(a) The superintendent of the department shall establish, equip and maintain at the departmental headquarters a Criminal Identification Bureau, for the purpose of receiving and filing fingerprints, photographs, records and other information pertaining to the investigation of crim…

The Legislature of West Virginia approves and ratifies the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact, 42 U.S.C. §14616, as it existed on January 1, 2006, and the compact shall remain in effect in this state until the Legislature renounces the compact by statute. The Superinte…

In addition to any fees that may be established or collected by the State Police under any other provision of this article or rule promulgated pursuant thereto, the State Police shall collect a fee of $20 for performing adult private employment fingerprinting or fingerprinting fo…

(a) The Forensic Analysis Laboratory of the Marshall University Forensic Science Center is hereby declared to be engaged in the administration of criminal justice as that term is defined in 28 C. F. R. 20.3(b). (b) The Marshall University Forensic Science Center and the West Virg…

The State Police Forensic Laboratory Fund is hereby created within the Treasury of the state. The fund shall be administered by the superintendent and shall consist of all moneys made available for the operations of the State Police Forensic Laboratory from any source, including,…

Subject to the written approval of the Governor and the provisions of this article, the superintendent may make and promulgate proper rules for the government, discipline and control of the West Virginia state police and shall also cause to be established proper rules for the exa…

Any term used in this article relating to the Death, Disability and Retirement Fund has the same meaning as when used in a comparable context of the laws of the United States, unless a different meaning is clearly required. Any reference in this article to the Internal Revenue Co…

As used in this article, unless the context clearly requires a different meaning: (a) “Actuarially equivalent” or “of equal actuarial value” means a benefit of equal value computed upon the basis of the mortality table and interest rates as set and adopted by the retirement board…

(a) There is continued the Death, Disability and Retirement Fund created for the benefit of members, retirants and any dependents of retirants or deceased members of the fund. It is contemplated that substantially all of the members of the retirement system shall be qualified pub…

(a) The board shall retire any member of the fund who has filed with the board his or her voluntary petition in writing for retirement and: (1) Has or shall have completed twenty-five years of service as a member of the fund (including military service credit granted under the pr…

(a) Every retirant of the fund who is fifty-five years of age or older and who is retired by the board under the provisions of section twenty-seven of this article; every retirant of the fund who is retired by the board under the provisions of section twenty-nine or thirty of thi…

(a) For purposes of this section, the term "active military duty" means full-time active duty with the Armed Forces of the United States, namely the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, Space Force, or Navy; and service with the National Guard or reserve military …

(a) Any member of the fund who has not yet entered retirement status on the basis of age and service and who becomes partially disabled by injury, illness or disease resulting from any occupational risk or hazard inherent in or peculiar to the services required of employees of th…

As used in this article: (1) “CODIS” means the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Combined DNA Index System that allows the storage and exchange of DNA records submitted by federal, state, and local forensic DNA laboratories. The term “CODIS” includes the National DNA Index System…

(a) The West Virginia State Police Retirement System is continued. It is contemplated that substantially all of the members of the retirement system shall be qualified public safety employees as defined in section two of this article. Any West Virginia state trooper employed by t…

(a) The central abuse registry shall maintain information relating to child abuse or neglect, abuse or neglect of an incapacitated adult or adult receiving behavioral health services, and misappropriation of property with respect to individuals convicted of certain offenses pursu…