CHESAPEAKE, Va. - Law enforcement agencies across the country are experiencing staffing shortages, and Hampton Roads is no exception.
New recruits are in short supply.
News 3’s Leondra Head spoke with the Chesapeake Police Department during their recruiting efforts at a Chesapeake City Town Hall Tuesday night.
"We have just about 40 vacancies for sworn police officers in Chesapeake," Chesapeake recruiting police officer Dupree Foster said.
The Chesapeake Police Department is offering competitive pay.
"The base salary right now is $51,000. If they have an associate's degree or bachelor's, they get extra money on top of their salary each year," Foster said.
Head asked Foster why several police departments across the nation are facing staffing shortages.
"I think a lot of it has to do with the national climate with law enforcement. I’ve been recruiting for five years. It’s changed drastically over those five years," Foster said.
Foster said the social climate has played a large role in staffing shortages across the nation.
"The killings and things that have happened across the nation," he said. "I’ve heard some people say their family members have said they shouldn’t do it because of the national climate or the things they see and hear."
Hampton Roads police departments are seeing vacancies in the double digits. The Norfolk Police Department has 209 vacancies to fill. The Newport News Police Department has 50 vacancies. The Virginia Beach Police Department has 34 vacancies. The Hampton Police Department has 41 vacancies. Virginia State Police has 250 vacancies.
Chesapeake police said, thankfully, the vacancies have not impacted the department’s call times or response times.
State lawmakers continue to work out the budget for this year which could include raises for police.
News 3 reached out to all seven police departments in Hampton Roads — Hampton, Suffolk and Portsmouth did not respond by our deadline.
