Key to the success of the Virginia Center for Policing Innovation is the team of dedicated professionals on which we rely to conduct the VCPI Facility Vulnerability Assessments.

Lieutenant Jimmie Barrett, CCPS

Lieutenant Jimmie Barrett has been the Courts Security Supervisor for the Arlington County, Virginia Sheriff's Office for the past 9 years. He is a Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) certified crime prevention specialist as well as a certified Virginia DCJS general instructor. Jimmie is a member of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals and ASIS International. He was a past Chairman of the Court Officers' & Deputies' Association (CODA), a subcommittee of the National Sheriffs' Association. Jimmie serves as the Substitute Trustee representing uniform employees of Arlington County on the Arlington County Retirement System. He holds a master's degree in Public Administration from George Mason University, and a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Texas Lutheran University.

First Sergeant Thomas A. Bradshaw, PPS, CCPS

First Sergeant Tom Bradshaw has been commissioned with the Virginia State Police for over twenty years. Prior to his appointment, he was a Suffolk Police Officer for seven years. He currently serves as the Area Commander for Richmond City and Henrico County. He was the former Assistant Unit Commander assigned to the Executive Protective Unit Office of the Governor, providing dignitary protection for the Governor and the First Family in Richmond, Virginia since May 1994. He served as the former Medical Officer and the Units Intelligence Officer for Threat Assessments and Intelligence Gathering.

Tom has served as the lead advance Agent and Supervisory Agent for high profile events such as 2007 400th Celebration of the Discovery of America with visits from Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, The Duke of Edinburgh Prince Phillip, The President and Vice President of the United States, 2002 Gubernatorial Inauguration of the Governor of Virginia, 2001 Presidential Inauguration, 2000 Democratic National Convention, 1998 Gubernatorial Inauguration of the Governor of Virginia; and also a member of the transition team. Other major events include assorted National Governors Association Conferences, Southern Governors Conference, and Republican & Democratic National Conferences.

Tom has vast experience with traveling, lead advance and providing protection abroad. He was the lead advance in several European Trade Missions, working closely with the U.S. Embassy and the foreign federal, state, and local authorities to coordinate these missions. Tom holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Governmental Administration from Christopher Newport University and a Masters degree in Public Administration from Troy State University. He also received a Postgraduate Diploma in Leadership from the University of Virginia - National Criminal Justice Command College. He is a graduate of the United States Secret Service and U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Services Academies along with other state and federal dignitary protection courses.

Deputy Sheriff Vincent Downes, CCPS

Deputy Vincent Downes has been employed as a Deputy Sheriff with the Arlington County, Virginia Sheriff's Office for 19 years. His tenure with the Sheriff's office has been dedicated to the court security section. He is currently the Lead Court Security Deputy and assists in supervising 22 Court Deputies as well as assisting in the daily security operations of a thirteen-level, thirteen-courtroom, multi-user courthouse.

Vincent has had extensive training in the area of courtroom/courthouse security. Additionally, he has served as Lead Assessor on numerous Courthouse Security Assessments for VCPI. These assessments have benefited Sheriff's Offices throughout the Commonwealth with knowledge of courthouse security policies, procedures and practices. Vincent is a certified crime prevention specialist and firearms instructor. He is currently working to obtain his Physical Security Professional certification with the American Society of Industrial Security.

Sergeant Lars J. Hermann, CCPS

Sergeant Lars Hermann began his law enforcement career in 1985 as a Trooper with the Virginia State Police (VSP). In April of 1989, Lars was promoted to Special Agent and served in the Richmond area working narcotics enforcement. He left the VSP in 1990 to accept a position as a deputy sheriff with the Island County Sheriff's Office in Washington State. There he served as a patrol deputy certified in advance collision reconstruction and SWAT team member. During his tenure with the Island County Sheriff's Office, Lars initiated the agency's Traffic Safety Unit and was also assigned as the Assistant Swat Team Leader. Lars returned to the Virginia State Police in 1995 and was assigned to the Richmond area where he began his training in the field of Crime Prevention. In 1997 he received his certification as a Crime Prevention Specialist from the Department of Criminal Justice Services. He was promoted in July of 1999 to the rank of Sergeant and has served as a Headquarters Sergeant, Academy Training Sergeant and is currently Virginia's statewide Crime Prevention Coordinator.

Lars is a recognized leader in the area of crime prevention and has been involved in the security assessments and site plan reviews of numerous high profile facilities including the Virginia State Supreme Court, Virginia Department of Taxation, the State Fair of Virginia and numerous courthouses. His specialties include large facility security, bomb threat planning and response, school safety, crisis planning and policy review. Additionally, Lars is certified as a General Instructor, Radar/Lidar Instructor, Defensive Tactics Instructor and Personal Fitness Trainer. Lars is a Chief Petty Officer with the United States Navy Reserve and a two tour Iraq combat veteran. Lars earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Homeland Security from Saint Leo University.

Special Agent Greg Hopkins, CCPS

Special Agent Greg Hopkins has served with the Virginia State Police for 19 years. He began his career with the Federal Bureau of Investigation where he became a Security and Complaint Assistant. He is currently assigned to the Virginia State Police Pharmaceutical Drug Diversion Unit of Criminal Investigation in Richmond, Virginia. During his 14 years in uniform, Greg was a member of the State Police Accident Reconstruction Team, Motorcycle Patrol Unit and assigned to the Motor Vehicle Safety Inspection Division.

In 2002, Greg was assigned to the Virginia Capitol Police in response to a request by the Secure Virginia Panel to conduct major threat assessments and site plan review of approximately 22 state owned facilities in the downtown Richmond capitol region. In 2004, he was assigned as the temporary statewide Crime Prevention Coordinator. In this role, he assisted the Virginia Department of Transportation's Buffer Zone Protection Team in assembling, training and supervising approximately 20 Crime Prevention Specialist troopers in order to perform in-depth Buffer Zone security assessments on numerous facilities throughout the Commonwealth. Greg's specialties include large facility security, personal safety and workplace violence. He is a certified as a general instructor as well as a crime prevention specialist by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services.

Officer Scott Meyerhoffer, CCPS

Officer Scott Meyerhoffer is an 18-year veteran of the Chesterfield County, Virginia Police Department. He is certified by the Commonwealth of Virginia as a crime prevention specialist and a general law enforcement instructor. In his role on the Chesterfield SWAT Team, Scott is a Scout Sniper with specialized certifications as an instructor in firearms, patrol rifle, taser and active shooter. He is certified by the Department of Homeland Security as a terrorism instructor and has assisted several agencies within the Commonwealth in developing and instructing courses in threat assessments for large facilities. Through certification and training from New Mexico Tech he has established training for the Chesterfield County Police Department in the area of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Scott has been instrumental in developing security initiatives for private security companies in the area of active shooter and crisis management. And, while working as a community policing officer assigned to a large retail mall, he was instrumental in starting the first community policing office in a large shopping mall in the central Richmond area at no cost to his agency. He was elected as President of the Central Virginia Crime Prevention Association and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Virginia Crime Prevention Association.

Lieutenant Jonathan Ortiz

Lieutenant Jonathan Ortiz is a 15-year veteran of the Fairfax County, Virginia Sheriff's Office where he currently serves as the Supervisor of Facility Security. During his career he has served on the Confinement, Narcotics and Weapons Task-Force, Fugitive Transportation, Road Shark Program, Administrative Supervisor of Community Correction, Assistant Squad Commander, Crime Prevention Supervisor and Supervisor of Facilities Security of the Public Safety Complex.

Jonathan has been involved with crime prevention for 12 years. He is a Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) certified crime prevention specialist, field instructor and law enforcement instructor. Prior to his law enforcement career, he spent 7 years in the lighting industry where he became an expert in proper illumination. Jonathan has instructed on a variety of crime prevention topics and has conducted numerous home, business and court security assessments. He also has experience in reviewing, changing and creating policy.

Ms. Donna Pletch, CCPS

Donna Pletch is a certified crime prevention specialist with the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services. As the Agency Security Manager for the Virginia Department of Transportation, Donna currently provides managerial oversight of statewide programs related to transportation infrastructure security. She is experienced in managing multi-faceted security systems that include electronic access control, credentialing, CCTV, and intrusion detection systems.

Donna was previously employed as a Crime Prevention Sergeant at the Virginia Capitol Police Department where she was responsible for all anti-terrorism and crime prevention related programs. Donna has extensive experience conducting comprehensive security assessments of government and private sector facilities, and presenting findings to agency managers and legislative panels. In this position, Donna was regularly called upon to provide security recommendations and training to state agencies regarding physical security, crime prevention, workplace violence prevention, threat management, and mailroom security.

Mr. Jeffrey J. Steger, CCPS

Jeffrey J. Steger has more than 22 years of law enforcement experience with 17 years as a Master Police Officer in the Youth Resource/Crime Resistance Unit of the Arlington County, Virginia Police Department. He has worked with public and private school systems directing the coordination, planning and program implementation of a wide variety of programs that focus on youth, substance abuse, crime prevention and community policing. Jeffrey was instrumental in the development of an assessment process for public schools in Virginia and has assessed numerous schools, public housing developments, businesses, and neighborhoods throughout the United States.

Jeffrey is a past President of the Virginia Crime Prevention Association and is a Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services certified crime prevention specialist. He is a substance abuse specialist for high profile programs and contracts as a grant review specialist for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. He holds a bachelor's degree in Psychology from Carson-Newman College and is currently working toward a master's degree in Administration of Justice.