Richmond Police Department Headquarters on Grace Street. (Photo: Crixell Matthews/VPM News)
Richmond City Council members have agreed to provide roughly $204,000 for a civilian review board examining police misconduct, about a third of the funding requested.
Richmond’s Task Force for the Establishment of a Civilian Review Board is currently working to outline how the board will operate, what power it will have and what kind of resources it will need. It’s still unclear when the board will be operational, although task force members are hoping for the start of 2022. The civilian review board will investigate police shootings and resident complaints.
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Here’s a recap of the top stories on the morning of Tuesday, April 27, 2021:
After years of campaigning, the Richmond Public Defender’s office could finally get the funding it’s been asking for. As the city deliberates the budget, which begins July 1, public defenders say it should keep equal justice in mind.
Prince William County Del. Hala Ayala got a boost in her campaign to become the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor yesterday. State Democratic leaders, including Gov. Ralph Northam, gave Ayala the biggest endorsements in the race so far.
The John Marshall Courts Building in Richmond. (Photo: Crixell Matthews/VPM News)
In Richmond, attorneys who represent people who can’t afford a lawyer are asking the city to help pay their salaries. Like many public defenders across the country, they say they struggle to keep lawyers on staff, which makes it difficult to provide equal justice for people accused of crimes.
After years of campaigning for more money, the office might finally get the funding it’s asked for as the city deliberates this year’s budget.
The state of Virginia pays the salaries of both the Commonwealth Attorney’s office and the public defender’s office. But the city supplements the salaries of its prosecutors.
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Richmond City Hall. (Photo: Crixell Matthews/VPM News)
Richmond City Council members are proposing various amendments to the 2022 budget, from salary bumps for police and firefighters to funding for a city-wide financial audit.
The proposed amendments would be attached to a bare-bones $770 million budget proposed by Mayor Levar Stoney in March. Because of the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on local tax revenue, Stoney’s proposed 2022 budget includes little new spending or projects. Still, some members of Richmond City Council want to move money around to free up funding for various initiatives.
Three members Council President Cynthia Newbille, Vice President Ellen Robertson and Reva Trammell are proposing salary increases for police and firefighters, costing between $1.9 and $4 million.
AG Mark Herring hires Conviction Integrity Unit team
Published Wednesday, Apr. 14, 2021, 12:10 am
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Mark Herring
Attorney General Mark Herring announced Tuesday that he has hired three former capital/public defenders as part of his efforts to expand his new Conviction Integrity Unit.
In January, Herring announced the creation of a Conviction Integrity Unit to identify and overturn wrongful convictions in Virginia. The unit is a distinct entity with a singular focus on evaluating and investigating claims of wrongful conviction, taking proactive steps to overturn wrongful convictions, and implementing important changes in the law that will finally allow for more wrongly convicted people to pursue their claims in the courts.