CENTRAL RECORDS DIVISION

The Central Records Division, a component of the Administrative Services Bureau, serves as a repository for criminal histories, correspondence, fingerprints, photographs, incident and accident reports, and all warrants generated by, or entrusted to, the Norfolk Police Department. Central Records serves as a liaison with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Virginia State Police, the Department of Criminal Justice Services, the Norfolk Emergency Operations Center, and others for information and data exchange.

Central Records is divided into eight separate units: the Public Service Counter, Word Process Center, Photo Lab, Warrant Section, Property and Evidence Unit, False Alarm and Funeral Escort Section, Identification Section, and the Central Desk for the Police Operations Center. These units have independent responsibilities but depend on each other for various forms of support.

The Public Service Counter serves the general public and private agencies on a fee-for-service basis. These services include concealed weapons applications, criminal background checks, taxi permits, accident reports, offense records, fingerprinting and other criminal record checks.

The Word Process Center assists citizens as well as police officers in receiving, logging, and entering incident and accident reports into our databases. This includes taking some minor reports over the telephone.

The Photo Lab is responsible for processing all evidentiary photos for the police department. In addition, the staff photograph special events such as departmental promotional and awards ceremonies.

The Warrant Section receives warrants, summonses, protective orders, subpoenas, and related legal documents from the courts and out of city agencies. The Warrant Section personnel are responsible for ensuring the legal documents are properly entered into state and federal databases.

The Property and Evidence Unit receives, documents, and stores all property and evidence acquired by Norfolk Police Officers. They maintain and protect the chain of evidence of all items in their custody and properly dispose of items by returning the property to the rightful owner or disposing of it in accordance with existing laws.

The False Alarm Section is responsible for billing and collecting a service fee from residents and business that have a third false alarm requiring police response within a six month time period. The section is also responsible for billing and collecting fees for police escorts provided during funerals.

The Identification Section is responsible for registering felons as well as sex offenders as required by law. They fingerprint police applicants and civilians, perform record checks for departmental personnel and outside agencies, and fingerprint suspects for identification purposes for police officers.

The Central Desk at the Police Operations Center is generally a citizen’s first point of contact when arriving at the Police Operations Center (POC). The Central Desk controls access into the building with a computerized lock control system and monitors the interior and exterior of the building with video cameras. The Police Operations Center has eight temporary holding cells which are remotely controlled and monitored by Central Desk personnel.