RICHMOND, Va. -- A state inspector general’s report has found that law enforcement departments within Virginia’s conservation and marine resources agencies are overwhelmingly white and male.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported Thursday that Gov. Ralph Northam had asked the Office of the State Inspector General to examine recruitment and hiring among the agencies’ law enforcement staff.
The agencies are the Department of Wildlife Resources, the Department of Conservation and the Marine Resources Commission.
The inspector general found that law enforcement staff at the three agencies were all at least 90% white and 90% male.
Northam directed his chief diversity officer to carry out recommendations that include better outreach to underrepresented communities.
