A Guide to the Secretary of Public Safety Records, 1998-2001 Secretary of Public Safety Records, 1998-2001 38945

A Guide to the Secretary of Public Safety Records, 1998-2001

A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Accession Number 38945


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Library of Virginia

The Library of Virginia
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Richmond, Virginia 23219-8000
USA
Email: archdesk@lva.virginia.gov(Archives)
URL: http://www.lva.virginia.gov/

© 2002 By the Library of Virginia.

Funding: Web version of the finding aid funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Processed by: Roger E. Christman

Repository
Library of Virginia
Accession number
38945
Title
Secretary of Public Safety Records, 1998-2001
Physical Characteristics
15 cu. ft.
Physical Location
State records collection, Acc. 38945
Language
English

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Privacy protected information closed for 100 years after date record created. Types of records restricted include, but are not limited to: Prisoner medical records, juvenile criminal records, Commonwealth of Virginia employment applications, job interview notes, employee performance reviews, and employee grievance materials that were sent to the Secretary of Public Safety and are part of the constituent correspondence series. Privacy protected material has been sealed but has not been removed from the collection.

Use Restrictions

Privacy protected information closed for 100 years after date record created.

Preferred Citation

Virginia. Secretary of Public Safety. Correspondence and subject files, [cite specific date and accession used]. State Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Transferred from the Office of the Secretary of Public Safety by Kevin Massengill and D.M. Taylor, 11 January 2002.

Biographical/Historical Information

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 Governors top management team or "secretariats," as they were called now. Governor Linwood Holton's top priority for the 1972 session of the General Assembly was a proposal for a Governor's Cabinet, reorganizing state agencies into six major departments--each headed by a secretary appointed by the governor.

Transportation and public safety was one of these six departments. The office of Secretary of Transportation and Public Safety was created on April 8, 1972, by an act passed by the General Assembly. Governor Holton appointed Wayne A. Whitham, a member of the Winchester City Council, as the first Secretary of Transportation and Public Safety.

When Whitman took office on July 1, 1972, he was responsible for 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.

The Office has undergone a series of administrative reorganizations since 1972. On April 12, 1976, the Legislature established separate secretariats for transportation and for public safety, effective July 1, 1976. On July 1, 1984, the offices were again compined. Most recently, the Secretary of Transporation and Public Safety was divided into seperate secretariats on February 22, 1990. The Secretary of Public Safety is a member of the Governor's Cabinet, and is appointed by the governor, subject to confirmation by the General Assembly.

Currently the Secretary of Public Safety is responsible for the direction or jurisdiction over the following state agencies and boards: Commonwealth's Attorneys' Services Board, Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Department of Correctional Education, Department of Corrections, Department of Criminal Justice Services, Department of Emergency Services, Virginia Department of Fire Programs, Department of Juvenile Justice, Department of Military Affairs, Virginia Parole Board, and the Department of State Police.

In December 1997 Governor-elect James S. Gilmore III named Gary K. Aronhalt as Secretary of Public Safety. Aronhalt was Gilmore's chief assistant when Gilmore was Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney and Virginia Attorney General. Aronhalt served until the end of the Gilmore administration in January 2002.

Scope and Content Information

The records of the Secretary of Public Safety consist of constituent correspondence to the Governro referred to the secretary for response and correspondence arranged by department and subject files. Constituent correspondence are arranged by tracking numbers assigned by the Governor's office and date received. Subjects included are law enforcement issues, Virginia State Police, ABC stores, gun control, capital punishment, drunk driving, parole, Virginia National Guard, pay raises for law enforcement officers, 9/11 terrorist attacks, and Virginia's juvenile detention system. A significant number of correspondence consist of letters from family and friends of Virginia prison inmates appealing to the Governor to intervene in their case. Gary K. Aronhalt, Secretary of Public Safety, wrote responses to nearly all of these letters.

Additional correspondence are arranged by department, by date and subject. Notable documents filed with each department include memos from Aronhalt to each agency head, dated May 1999, reviewing each department's strategic plan. Correspondence filed under the Department of Military Affairs and chronologically (see 14 December 2000) describe the racial discrimination complaints made by African-American members of the Virginia National Guard.

Notable topics include terrorism, COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services), New Partnership Commission, SABRE Project (Substance Abuse Reduction Effort), and Virginia Exile. Notable documents concerning terrorism include: a memo from Gary K. Aronhalt to Mark Miner, Press Secretary to Governor Gilmore, dated 15 June 2000, recommending a fifteen point strategy on ways to increase Gilmore's national exposure and name-association with terrorism preparedness policy; summary of the 28 September 2001 meeting of the Virginia Preparedness and Security Panel and the Panel's report to the Governor, dated 30 November 2001. Notable documents concerning Virginia Exile include: bi-weekly reports on the status of Virginia Exile written by Mike Costigan of the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services to Aronhalt between August 1999 and August 2000 and Project Exile grant applications for Fiscal Year 2000 for Halifax County, Chesapeake, Lynchburg, Petersburg, Richmond, and Roanoke.

Contents List

Constituent Correspondence - 1998
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Constituent Correspondence - 1998
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Constituent Correspondence- 1998-1999
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Constituent Correspondence- 1999
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Constituent Correspondence- 1999
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Constituent Correspondence- 1999
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Constituent Correspondence- 1998-2000 (mainly 2000)
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Constituent Correspondence- 2000
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Constituent Correspondence- 2000
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Constituent Correspondence- 2000-2001
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Constituent Correspondence- 2001
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Constituent Correspondence- 2001
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Constituent Correspondence- 2001
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Board Appointments
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Correspondence- State Agencies
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Correspondence- Chronologial, 1998-2001
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Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) & Department of Emergency Services
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Federal Grant Funding
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Legislative Initiatives
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Special Programs
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