 Ken Odor
Hanover Sheriff’s Office recruiting looking up
Hanover County is in a battle with the Virginia State Police, other area law enforcement agencies and the federal government.
The battle is for new police recruits.
It’s a struggle all area police departments deal with every year, with different weapons and varying degrees of success.
Lately the Hanover Sheriff’s Office has been having some success.
With an authorized strength of 196 in law enforcement and 19 in court services, currently the county has just six unfilled positions, five in law enforcement and one in the court services division.
“We’re doing very well compared to past years,” said Hanover Sheriff Col. V. Stuart Cook, last week, who said Hanover’s empty positions are at their lowest point in several years.
With a current class of recruits in their 10th week of a 20 week training course, Cook is preparing to present his next budget to the Board of Supervisors this Wednesday.
He had originally planned to ask for nine new officers, but state budget realities have cut that number to five.
“We have to live with the economic cards we’re dealt,” said Cook, who has praised County Administrator Cecil R. “Rhu” Harris and the Board of Supervisors for their willingness to help the sheriff’s office fill its manpower needs.
Some other area police departments are having trouble filling slots.
Chesterfield County has about 30 vacancies.
Chesterfield Police Chief Thierry G. Dupuis told the county’s board of supervisors recently that the turnover rate in his department is eight percent and that he has 30 vacancies, as reported in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Dupuis blamed salary levels, at least in part, for the county’s problems.
Chesterfield County’s starting salary for a new police officer straight out of the academy is $38,000. A Hanover deputy currently starts at $37,616, whereas Henrico leads the area at $40,326.35, with Richmond City bringing up the rear at $36,500.
But Hanover law enforcement officials are quick to point out that salary alone is only one factor in attracting recruits.
The county’s quality of life, good schools and the atmosphere in the department are cited as advantages when vying for the pool or eligible applicants.
And although some agencies have lowered standards, Cook emphasized Hanover has not.
“We will take only good quality people,” he said. “Because we get the best, people stay.”
Recruiting more minorities is high on Hanover’s list of priorities, but competition is stiff, said Cook, particularly from federal agencies.
Cook said retention is good, and when officers do leave, “they go federal,” at pay scales no area law enforcement agency can match.
Interviews with several newly hired officers seemed to bear out Cook’s points.
Deputy Jason Ryder, 36, made a lateral move from Chesterfield in January, after 13 years on the force there.
“For the longest time Hanover has been known as a good department,” said Ryder last week.
Ryder said there is less stress working in Hanover than on his previous job. Although Ryder said it was hard to leave friends on the force in Chesterfield, he’s glad he made the move.
“I don’t regret it at all,” said Ryder, who said the Hanover force has a family atmosphere, and the citizens in the county are friendly.
“The people actually want us here.”
For those without previous law enforcement experience, the path to becoming a Hanover sheriff’s deputy involves a multi-step selection process, a 20-week training academy and a 12-week field training process after graduation.
Only a few who apply make the grade. In 2007, 726 hopefuls applied. Twenty-six were hired.
Over the last 10 years, about 4 percent of applicants made the grade, said Personnel Sgt. Kerri Freis.
“We could fill all our vacancies tomorrow if we lowered our standards,” said Lt. Mike Trice, “but that would bring challenges with it,” echoing Cook’s comments about retention.
“We’re looking for consistency – a pattern of good decisions,” said Trice, which includes choices about alcohol and drug use. Coming clean on the initial application is essential, because a polygraph test later on will uncover negative information an applicant might leave out. For young applicants, (minimum age is 21), background checks delve into a person’s high school years and their friends and activities.
Although some applicants apply to many departments, some recent recruits concentrated on Hanover alone.
Current police academy trainee Matthew Gathright, 28, is one.
“Hanover is the only place I wanted to work,” he said. Gathright first applied four years ago, but was not selected. He waited four years and was accepted the second time he applied.
Chris Stem. 22, is another who wanted to be a Hanover deputy. His first day on the road was March 17 after completing training.
“It was the best fit for me,” said Stem, whose father works for another area law enforcement agency. Stem applied when he was a senior in college.
Lillian Meyer, 23, from Alexandria, majored in criminal justice while attending VCU, and worked in security for Kings Dominion, which allowed her to get to know the county. She knew from an early age what she wanted to do.
“I decided when I was five-years-old I wanted to be a cop,” she said.
“I applied to Hanover and Hanover only,” said Meyer, who is one of the few Hanover deputies who are bilingual in Spanish and English.
“They take care of you here.”
Meyer’s first day on patrol was March 16 – she was lucky – she got the day shift.
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