Krista Varady

Krista Varady is currently the Chief Probation and Parole Officer for the Voice Verification Biometric Unit (VVBU) at the Virginia Department of Corrections. She began her career with the Virginia Department of Corrections in 2006 and has over 30 years of law enforcement and correctional experience having worked as a deputy sheriff for the Richmond Sheriff’s Office and as a juvenile detention specialist.

The Voice Verification Biometric Unit is an innovative unit within the VADOC, utilizing app based biometric technology through facial and voice recognition in supervision of approximately 11,000 low risk probationers and parolees. The VVBU is comprised of a Deputy Chief Probation and Parole Officer, eight full time biometric specialists and five part time employees. Miss Varady’s unit was the winner of the 2023 Southern Legislative Conference State Transformation in Action Recognition (STAR) Award.

Miss Varady recently helped in implementing the same biometric technology within the Virginia prison system, facilitating an app-based safety check-in procedure for correctional officers conducting inmate transportation. Miss Varady serves a dual role as Chief Probation and Parole Officer for the Absconder Monitoring Unit (AMU). The AMU is assigned over 3,000 cases of probationers and parolees who have absconded from supervision and have active warrants for their arrest. The unit is comprised of three full time specialists.

Miss Varady is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Administration of Justice. She is also an adjunct instructor for the Virginia Department of Corrections.