VCU Police Welcomes a New Chief
 Former Richmond Police Maj. John Venuti was sworn in as the chief of the Virginia Commonwealth University Police Department on February 3, 2010. VCUPD is one of the largest university police departments in the country with 82 sworn officers, more than 200 security personnel and an accredited training academy.
Venuti comes to the VCU Police Department with more than 25 years experience in law enforcement. He joined the Richmond Police Department in 1984 as a patrol officer and rose through the ranks to major. His former assignment was command of Support Services. In that role, he supervised more than 175 sworn and civilian employees and managed a $15 million budget. In the RPD, Support Service includes the major crimes unit, cold case unit, forensics unit, arson unit, fugitive unit and the force investigation and sexual assault teams.
Venuti has led the Metropolitan Area Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force, working with the region’s five jurisdictions, Virginia State Police and the federal Drug Enforcement Agency. He was also executive director and creator of Stop The Pain 804, a grass roots, community policing initiative that includes a collaborative, urban anti-violence music video for inner city youth, focused on the impact of violence on the entire community.
Venuti is scheduled to receive a bachelor’s degree in management and leadership from Bluefield College in 2010. He has completed the FBI National Academy, as well as more than two dozen law enforcement and management training programs sponsored by federal and state agencies.
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