Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Privacy protected and other protected information is considered confidential and restricted from public access for 75 years. It may be necessary for an archivist to review any unprocessed, modern record collections (those collections less than 75 years old) that may contain confidential information before the records can be used by patrons for research purposes or before any copies of records can be made for patrons. If you are planning to use these records, please contact Archives Reference Services for more details before planning your research trip.

If a request for copies is made for material containing confidential information, it is understood that this information will be redacted from the copies, if it is possible to do so. If redaction is not possible, the records will be withheld. Researchers must also agree that no direct or indirect contact will be made with the individuals to whom any personal or confidential information relates. Improper use and/or re-disclosure of privacy protected information is a breach of confidentiality which could result in the loss of access to the archival collections housed and maintained by The Library of Virginia, and could result in legal penalties (Code of Virginia, 18.2-186.3).

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Virginia Secretary of Public Safety Constituent Correspondence, 1993. Accession 35258, State records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Transferred by the Office of the Secretary of Public Safety, Ninth Street Office Building, Richmond, Virginia, 29 January 1997.

Processing Information

This collection has been processed using minimal processing standards: the original arrangement has been maintained, the container list is brief and simple, and the records have not been refoldered and fasteners have not been removed.

Material found loose in the boxes was foldered and given a title determined by the archivist. In cases where folder titles were inaccurate, the titles have been corrected to more adequately describe the material.

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 are 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. On April 12, 1976, the Legislature established separate secretariats for transportation and for public safety, effective July 1, 1976. On July 1, 1984, the secretariats of transportation and public safety were again combined. However, on February 22, 1990, the Secretary of Transportation and Public Safety was divided once again into separate secretariats.

In March 1992, after a scandal involving his first Secretary of Public Safety, Robert L. Suthard, Governor L. Douglas Wilder appointed O. Randolph Rollins, a Richmond attorney and Deputy Secretary of Public Safety, as Secretary of Public Safety. Rollins served until the end of Governor Wilder's term in January 1994. Walter L. Smiley served as Deputy Secretary of Public Safety during this time.

Scope and Content

Contains constituent correspondence including incoming and outgoing letters. Many of the letters are addressed to Governor L. Douglas Wilder and were referred to the Secretary of Public Safety, O. Randolph Rollins, for response. In many cases, the response was written by Deputy Secretary of Public Safety, Walter L. Smiley. The correspondence pertains to issues and agencies related to public safety including the correctional system, the parole system, state and local police, and firearm legislation.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into the following series: