Warren County Sheriff’s Office earns prestigious Certified Crime Prevention Community Designation

In a major step forward for local law enforcement, the Warren County Sheriff’s Office has been officially certified as a Certified Crime Prevention Community (CCPC) by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), making it the 13th agency in the state to receive this esteemed designation.

This distinctive DCJS program recognizes law enforcement agencies that have demonstrated exemplary community policing programs. As Sheriff Mark Butler puts it, the program’s objective is to “foster the development of community safety initiatives at the local level, in close collaboration with our stakeholders.”

The CCPC Program, one of the first of its kind in the nation, encourages localities to develop and implement collaborative community safety plans. The program provides a flexible framework for Warren County to regularly reassess and update its strategies to address emerging community safety issues.

Achieving this certification required the Warren County Sheriff’s Office to meet a rigorous set of 12 core community safety elements/strategies, supplemented by a minimum of seven approved optional elements. This comprehensive approach spans nineteen elements, each with one to three quantifiable goals and a minimum of three objectives supporting each goal.

Sheriff Butler and his team have worked tirelessly towards this goal since his election in 2019, with collaboration from local residents, schools, Community Advisory Council members, elected officials, business owners, social services, nonprofit senior and youth programs, and other law enforcement agencies.

The CCPC Program brings numerous benefits and incentives to the community at large, including giving Warren County preference in the state criminal justice grant application process and the potential for premium reductions from insurance companies for policyholders living in Warren County. The Certified Crime Prevention Community designation enhances the professionalism of county management and the Sheriff’s Office by showing that the county can meet rigorous standards related to community safety.

Sheriff Butler wishes to express his sincerest appreciation to all those who supported this initiative. This prestigious CCPC designation is set to enhance service delivery to the county, with recertification due every three years. As Sheriff Butler noted, achieving both the VLEPSC accreditation and the CCPC Program award in the same month is truly historic and sets a new precedent in community safety.