The South Charleston detachment of the West Virginia State Police has reduced its staff and is now mainly used for registering and keeping track of the location of sex offenders.
Lawrence Messina, assistant secretary for the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, sent a statement in response to a request.
"Recently the process of registering and verifying approximately 850 sex offenders in Kanawha County has been consolidated to the more centrally located detachment in South Charleston," the statement reads. "Sex offender registry verifications are a state code-mandated responsibility of the West Virginia State Police and constitute a large portion of our workload, especially in Kanawha County.
"This change required an adjustment in manpower allocation; however, the overall number of troopers providing law enforcement services in Kanawha County has remained constant. Both the South Charleston and Quincy detachments are open and continue to provide law enforcement services to Kanawha County in collaboration with the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department and municipal law enforcement agencies."
He did not respond to questions about whether the detachment performed functions other than registering sex offenders, whether an increase in the number of sex offenders resulted in the change, the number of troopers at each detachment, and the detachment's hours of operation.
A sign hangs on the door of the detachment, which is located next to State Police headquarters, that reads: "Attention: If it is after 4 p.m. and you need assistance please call 304-558-7778 or *77.
A document hanging on a bulletin board inside, directed toward sex offenders, states that sex offender registry will no longer be handled at the Quincy detachment, and that effective July 1, sex offenders would be able to register at the South Charleston detachment between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesday, Thursdays and Fridays. It says that Wednesday registrations are by appointment only.
A State Police employee said the detachment is used for registering sex offenders, is not fully-staffed and that people can still file reports there, but referred further questions to a Sgt. Dickerson, who heads the detachment. He has not responded to multiple requests for comment last week.
Rumors had been circulating that the detachment closed. Reached several weeks ago about the detachment's status, Lt. Michael Baylous, spokesman for the State Police, said that it had not closed. He did not return calls last week seeking more information.
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