Senior Deputy Jason Forman was awarded his Homeland Protection Professional Certification from the National Sheriffs' Association, Institute for Homeland Security on October 4, 2016. This program certifies that recipients are highly prepared to assist their agencies to prevent, to protect against, and prepare for, all hazards relative to homeland security. To date, only 15 local law enforcement professionals in Virginia have earned this certification.

The rigorous qualifications standards to achieve this designation include an extensive combination of experience and education. The program took years for Deputy Forman to complete. In a letter awarding the certification, Kenneth M. Glantz, Executive Officer of the Association, stated, “awardees have demonstrated competency, knowledge, skills and abilities in the blended discipline area of Homeland Protection and have completed a rigorous qualification and testing program.”

Sheriff D.P. Decatur added, “The Stafford Sheriff’s Office is working daily to protect the community from ever-present threats of terrorism. Having someone achieve this certification provides a higher level of situational awareness and mitigates the chances of having our region be caught unaware.”

“If You See Something, Say Something”

The Stafford County Sheriff’s office encourages citizens to actively engage in protecting the homeland by reporting suspicious activity. As this information comes to our agency, we then coordinate and collaborate with both state and federal partners to review information for its intelligence value. Immediately sharing information with agencies such as the Virginia State Police, the Virginia Fusion Center and the F.B.I., is critical to ensuring our region is protected from threats both foreign and domestic.