AWARD FOR VALOR -- Recognizes a law enforcement officer who, in the line of duty, performs an act of extraordinary heroism while engaged with an adversary at imminent personal risk. The Award for Valor may be conveyed posthumously.

For guidance, review past recipients of the Award for Valor

AWARD FOR LIFESAVING -- Recognizes an officer’s actions that put the officer in harm’s way in an attempt to save the life of another individual. (Nomination should clearly indicate the danger to the officer.)

For guidance, review past recipients' of the Award for Lifesaving

AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO LAW ENFORCEMENT -- Recognizes any individual’s conspicuous act or achievement in the performance of some duty that results in an exceptional and responsible contribution to the law enforcement profession throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.

This is NOT meant to be recognition for investigative or taskforce work or even just for lifetime achievement, but rather for something done to aid or advance the law enforcement profession.

Law enforcement officers as well as non-sworn individuals are eligible for this recognition. They do not have to work for the same agency or organization as the nominator. Sworn LE officer nominees typically need to have done something that made at least a regional or statewide impact. Non-sworn individuals may be considered for contributions to a particular locality or agency (i.e. notable volunteers that made a significant contribution).

For guidance, review past recipients' of the OCLE Award

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REMINDER: All VACP Awards are individual awards, not team/unit/agency awards. While several members of a team/unit may be nominated and recognized for actions during a singular event, each nominee should still independently meet the criteria for the chosen award.

You may submit officers from a singular event for different awards (typically some may be nominated for Valor and others for Lifesaving) — please split these nominations and submit on this same form separately.

If you have any questions about the criteria, please reach out to Erin Schrad to ask questions — erin@vachiefs.org or (804) 709-1091.

INCLUDE ALL OFFICERS WHO MEET THE CRITERIA OF THE SELECTED AWARD, REGARDLESS OF AGENCY. (i.e. Include town police officers AND county sheriff's deputies or VSP troopers if they were all equally involved, IF you know this information.)

At the same time, do NOT include officers who DON'T meet the criteria of the selected award even if they were present on scene.
(E.g. Valor Award - Nominate only those officers directly engaged with the adversary; Lifesaving Award - Nominate only those directly in harm's way.)

Add rows as needed to include all nominees. 

Name should be entered as it should appear on the award. Be conscientious of any browser "auto-filled" or "auto-corrected" entries. 

• Use current rank if different from rank at time of incident.
• Please note if the nominee is now retired by adding "(Ret)" at the end of their last name; or, if this is a postuhmous nomination, add the notation "(PH)" at the end.
• If there is a discrepancy between the narrative documentation and the form, we default to the name(s) on the form. Please review these materials carefully to ensure correctness and completeness (i.e. no officer is left out).
• Please don't combine Valor & Lifesaving nominations on the same submission, but split them up and submit this form twice to nominate each officer for the appropriate award.

The narrative should indicate clearly how each nominee meets the award criteria. It should be concise, but still thorough enough for the reviewers to evaluate the actions of each nominee. Do not leave them guessing. (NOTE: The reviewers are all current or retired police chiefs who are current VACP members.)

Try to limit to no more than 3 pages of narrative, news articles, or letters of support.

Press releases, news articles or other narratives that do not clearly identify the officer(s) involved and their individual actions, or are otherwise vague on incident details, will be insufficent for evaluation WITHOUT other clarifying documentation.

Officers may be identified in the narrative with their rank at the time of the incident, even if their current rank (as stated in the nominee list) is different.

Clearly identify if any information in the narratives is included ONLY for evaluation purposes and is NOT for public release. (Change the font color, or highlight, or make some notation to the effect.)

Please also indicate if any officers' names are to be shielded in public releases about the awards.

WARNING: Simply recycling a narrative written for another awards program without ensuring that it addresses the criteria and submission requirements for this award will hinder the reviewers' ability to accurately assess the nominees for the award. 

Before you can SUBMIT your nomination, you must first REVIEW YOUR ANSWERS by clicking the button below. PLEASE BE SURE TO REVIEW FOR ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS.

IF YOU ARE NOT THE AGENCY HEAD... we encourage you to PRINT (to paper or PDF) your submission and any supporting documentation and get their approval before finalizing your submission. (You can save your form and an email will be sent with a link for this nomination for you to return to submit it.)

Upon submission... a copy of your nomination entry will be emailed to both email addresses entered at the top of the form (agency head and submitter/additional contact).

Deliberations/Notifications
The VACP Awards Committee will deliberate in July and notifications will be made as soon as possible after they finalize selections. Insufficient supporting documentation will delay a decision by the Committee and any notices to honorees.

Awards for Valor and Outstanding Contribution to Law Enforcement will be presented at the VACP Annual Conference in Williamsburg at the Tuesday evening banquet on Tuesday, August 26.  Honorees will be welcome to bring one guest each. (Additional banquet tickets will be available for purchase by the department or the guests.)

Awards for Lifesaving will be distributed to agency representatives at the Annual Conference to be presented to the recipients at a local event. Agency Heads may present on the VACP's behalf, or the VACP is happy to arrange for a Board Member, Awards Committee Member, or the Executive Director to make the presentation.

Questions?
Contact Erin Schrad, VACP Director of Operations & Communications, at erin@vachiefs.org or 804-709-1091.