Major R. Allen Davidson

Major R. Allen Davidson has been in the career of law enforcement since 1989, when he was hired with the Hanover County Sheriff's Office as a Uniform Patrol Officer. While in the Academy, his peers and the Academy Staff selected him to receive the Top Performance Achievement Award. Along with his regular duties as a Uniform Patrol Officer, he also served as a field training officer for new recruits, a background investigator for potential patrol officer candidates, and oftentimes was placed as officer-in-charge of the shift in the absence of the Sergeant.

In 1992, Allen was transferred to the Investigative Division and was assigned to the Vice/Narcotics Unit. In this capacity, he executed surveillance, technical operations, drug investigations, under cover assignments and later served with the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Task Force. Upon creation of the Sheriff's Office Street Crimes Division in 1994, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and became the officer-in-charge of this newly created specialized unit. The unit's mission was to focus on crimes in progress, organized crime, major and repeat violators, and probation and parole violators.

Allen was promoted in 1997 to the rank of Lieutenant and was placed in the Administrative Support Operations Division, supervising the Personnel and Training Unit. He continued his education by attending formalized training through the Department of Criminal Justice Services where Allen obtained certification as a general instructor. Additionally, he attended the "Management of Police Personnel Units" Thomas and Means School and the International Association of Chiefs of Police "Managing the Police Training Operation"; co-hosted the 2000 American Society of Law Enforcement; and graduated from the University of Richmond's Professional Executive Leadership School. His professional development continued through attending the United States Secret Service for Dignitary Protection, and the 205th session of the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy.

After five years in the Administrative Support Operations Division, Allen Davidson was appointed to the rank of Captain in the Uniform Patrol Division, the largest division of the Sheriff's Office. With over 120 personnel, he managed the Uniform Patrol Division, the Reserve Unit, and special teams and served as the Sheriff's representative to the Transportation Safety Committee as appointed by the Board of Supervisors. Additionally, Allen is credited for developing and implementing Hanover County's Sheriff's Office D.C. Sniper Response Plan (and subsequently adopted as the Richmond Metro Regional Plan) which culminated in multiple arrests as well as the Metro Richmond Area Police Pursuit Review and Policy Committee.

Allen Davidson was appointed to the rank of Major and has served as officer-in-charge of the Uniform Patrol Division, the Investigative Division, and most recently the Administrative Support Operations Division. As commander, he currently oversees Budget and Planning, Systems Administration, Court Services, Personnel and Training, and Records and Evidence.

In 2004 Major Davidson was designated the agency's research and development officer as part of the County's project team that designed and is currently implementing a fully P25 compliant 800MHz Digital Radio System funded in the 2005 bond referendum and cutover in August, 2010. He also developed the Agency's first Five-Year Strategic Plan to meet and predict new challenges to law enforcement across the County.

Major Davidson is actively involved in the agency's certification for both the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission (VLEPSC) and Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). Most recently he represented the Hanover County Sheriff's Office in the reaccreditation of the agency in Salt Lake City, Utah in November, 2009 where he testified before the commission on behalf of the department.

The Major acts as the legislation liaison for the agency with the Virginia General Assembly. Most recently Major Davidson worked with members of both the House of Delegates as well as the Senate to pass legislation to allow the Sheriff's Office to create its first DCJS independent Certified Law Enforcement Academy. Class #1 of LE Basic graduated July 1, 2010.

In 2011 Major Davidson was elected to co-chair the Richmond Virginia Capital Region 800Mhz Radio Steering Committee.  Member agencies are from the city of Richmond and the counties of Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico.  He was also elected as the Chairman for the State of Virginia, Regional Preparedness Advisory Committee for Interoperability representing Virginia’s Homeland Security Region 1.   This region represents 28 localities and is derived from public safety and emergency responders dedicated to improving communications interoperability coordination and planning at the regional level. In addition, Major Davidson sits on the Virginia State Interoperability Executive Committee, which acts as a strategic advisory group on communications interoperability issues across the state.

Major Davidson holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Organizational Management and Leadership, an Associates Degree in Administration of Justice and is currently pursuing his Masters Degree. He is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Sheriffs' Association, and the Virginia Sheriffs' Association. Major Davidson also serves as Deputy Emergency Manager for Hanover County.

Allen is married, has two children, and resides in Hanover County. He has served on Youth League Boards and has coached girls' fast-pitch softball for more than fifteen years.