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Superintendent W. Steven Flaherty

W. Steven Flaherty

W. Steven Flaherty

Born November 27, 1953
Native of Roanoke, Virginia

Father Warren R. Flaherty served as a trooper from October 1957 to March 1971. He was a graduate of Excelsior College with Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and Protective Services.

Employed as a Probationary Trooper October 1975 and assigned to Area 33 Suffolk for field training under Trooper H. C. White. Entered the State Police Academy February 1976 as member of 61stbasic session. Graduated from the State Police Academy in July 1976 and assigned to 2ndDivision Area 11, Independent Hill, Fredericksburg.

Promoted to Sergeant July 1, 1983, and assigned as instructor to the State Police Academy, Captain J. T. Flanary, Director. Promoted to First Sergeant August 1, l986 and assigned to 4thDivision, area 30, Norton to replace First Sergeant G. J. Eldridge who retired.

Promoted to Lieutenant July 1, 1990, designated Assistant Safety Officer and assigned to the Safety Division under Captain J. P. Henries to replace Henries who had been promoted to Captain as part of this personnel action. Promoted to Captain in 1994 becoming Division Commander of the Safety Division to replace Captain W. G. Massengill who was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. Graduate Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff and Command.

In 2000, promoted to Major and assigned to the Bureau of Field Operations as Deputy Director to replace Major J. B. Scott who was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. Graduate FBI National Executive Institute.

Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 2002 and assigned as Director of the Bureau of Administrative and Support Services to replace Lieutenant Colonel L. W. Burchett who retired.

Graduate Virginia Executive Institute. Appointed Superintendent by Governor Mark W. Warner in January, 2003 to succeed Colonel W. G. Massengill who retired; reappointed to the office by Governors Timothy Kaine, Robert McDonald, and Terence McAuliffe in succeeding terms. As of the year 2015, Flaherty is the second longest tenured state police/ highway patrol superintendent in the United States, attesting to his consistent competency in the office.

During Colonel Flaherty’s successive tenures as Superintendent, he has directed or provided oversight to a reorganization focused on enhancing the efficiency of the agency, strengthening services to the public and other law enforcement agencies and improving and expanding the coordination of services with these agencies.
The department achieved reaccreditation in 2004 and 2007 from the National Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).

Notable Achievements:

  • Directed Department efforts in establishing the Northern Virginia –DC Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force in conjunction with other police departments.
  • Established a Sex Offender Investigative Unit.
  • Provided for enhanced recruitment from within the minority populations.
  • Developed and managed the communications system known as STARS, the Statewide Agencies Radio System. This system was the nation’s first integrated voice-over-data communications system now used by 21 Virginia state agencies.
  • Completed the much needed expansion of State Police Administrative Headquarters, making available the Virginia Fusion Center and the new state-of-the-art Virginia Emergency Operations Center.
  • Particularly notable during tenure as Superintendent was the leadership and direction of state police resources, investigative expertise and multi-agency coordination which were necessitated by the mass killings that took place at Virginia Tech University in April 2007, the scene of the nation’s deadliest shootings.
  • Equally notable was the successful management of media relations with representatives from around the world who came to the Tech Campus to cover the tragic event.
Among Colonel Flaherty’s affiliations as Superintendent are the following:

  • Member of the Board, International Association of Chiefs of Police and General Chair of the IACP State & Provincial Police Division.
  • Active in the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police (VACP).
  • Member, Department of Criminal Justices Services Board.
  • Serves on U.S. Attorney’s Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council.
  • Serves on the Joint Terrorism Task Force Executive Board for the Washington and Richmond offices of the FBI.
  • Member, Washington-Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Group (HIDTA).
  • Member, Central Virginia Law Enforcement Chief Executives Association.
  • Member, Greater Richmond Narcotics Task Force Executive Board.
  • Member, Executive Board DRIVE SMART, Virginia.
  • Member, American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators with service as International Chairman of the Inspection Handbook Committee, International Vice Chairman and Chairman, and Regional Chairman of the Engineering and Vehicle Inspection Committee.

Wife Karen, three children and six grandchildren. Son Christopher currently serves as a Special Agent with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation.