Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 44, November 1, 2024
Section 149-5-2 - Definitions2.1. "Chief executive" means the Superintendent of the State Police; the Chief Conservation Officer of the Division of Natural Resources; the sheriff of any West Virginia county; any administrative deputy appointed by the Chief Conservation Officer of Natural Resources; the chief of any West Virginia municipal law- enforcement agency; or the duly authorized designee of any chief executive.2.2. "Composition of patrol area" means the demographic description of the population in the patrol area to include elements of ethnicity, national origin, gender and age.2.3. "County" means any one of the fifty-five major political subdivisions of the state.2.4. "Driver" or "operator" means the person who drives or is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle upon a highway or who is exercising control over or steering a vehicle being towed by a motor vehicle.2.5. "Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Correction" or "Governor's committee" means the committee established as a state planning agency pursuant to W. Va. Code §15- 9-1.2.6. "Gross data" means aggregate data regarding the information obtained pursuant to section 3 of this rule.2.7. "Law-enforcement agency" means every West Virginia state, county or municipal agency with officers who are authorized to direct or regulate traffic or to make arrests or issue citations or warnings for violations of traffic laws and ordinances.2.8. "Law-enforcement officer" or "officer" means any duly authorized member of a law-enforcement agency who is authorized to maintain public peace and order, prevent and detect crime, make arrests and enforce the laws of the state or any county or municipality of the state, including persons employed as campus police officers at state institutions of higher education and those persons employed as rangers by the Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority.2.9. "Minority group" means individuals of any ethnic descent, including, but not limited to, African-American, Hispanic, Native American, Middle Eastern, Asian or Pacific Islander. 2.10. "Municipality" means any incorporated town, village or city whose boundaries lie within the geographic boundaries of the state.2.11. "Originating agency Identifier, or ORI Number" means the standard identification number assigned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to law-enforcement and other agencies that submit data required for criminal justice purposes.2.12. "Patrol area" means a clearly defined geographic area, identified by a number assigned by the chief law-enforcement official, that is established for the general purpose of providing a visible law enforcement presence in the area, in order to: (1) Secure property and to protect the public from the risks of damage or injury arising from criminal activity; (2) respond to emergency and non-emergency demands of citizens in a timely manner; (3) conduct prevention and other proactive patrol tasks effectively; and (4) conduct all other patrol tasks effectively, including traffic control and special missions work.2.13. "West Virginia Motor Vehicle Stop Form", or "MVSF", means the form developed by the Division of Motor Vehicles for collecting and reporting data for the study of racial profiling.