CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Author's note: The video above is on file from Oct. 27, 2021.
There’s a shortage of police officers in one Hampton Roads City.
“Across the board right now in the city, we are down 32 sworn vacancies we have,” recruiter and Chesapeake police officer Dupree Foster explained.
Foster said a full force consists of about 400 full and part-time sworn police officers.
He said, “With the shortage, we have officers who work overtime helping out obviously for uniformed patrol. That is our number one, making sure we answer our 911 calls.”
He said right now, the Chesapeake Police Department is doing the best they can with the staff they currently have.
“There have been some specialty units that have been downsized to make sure we have enough people in uniform patrol at this time and there's some talk of changing out the schedule to make things better for the officers were just waiting on getting the staff up a little bit,” he explained.
Department leaders also added a new way for people to make online and phone reports, which often doesn't require an officer to respond.
Foster said, “If you live in Chesapeake and many of us do, I don't know if citizens realize how short we are. We still respond to calls; we still send officers out to these calls.”
A big challenge, Foster said, is the pay for a Chesapeake police officer. The starting salary in the training academy, roughly $42,000.
“Recently some area departments have increased their pay,” he said. “Our city council is working very quickly on getting that approved for us to increase our pay as well.”
Foster said the department benefits are a big plus. He said officers are a part of the Virginia Retirement System. There’s also an incentive program for wellness to make sure people are taking care of themselves. It also includes their spouse.
“There is also a 457 so you can buy into your retirement. The health plans, that is huge. I think you have, like three different options to choose from. You can get yourself covered, you can get your whole family, you and your children. It’s going to be medical, dental and vision as well. There are life benefits in there as well that are built-in, you can buy in for that.”
While the perks are a plus, Foster said what makes this job all worth it is serving the people in his community. He hopes other people decide to apply for the job.
He said, “We understand no one is perfect, but if you don't apply and submit your background packet to us, the answer will always be no.”
If you would like to apply to become a Chesapeake police officer, click here.