We fund the police

 

At its Tuesday, June 1 meeting, the Goochland Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a 12 percent across the board pay adjustment for our sworn law enforcement officers (LEOs).

Goochland Sheriff Steven N. Creasey told the supervisors that at salary levels funded in the FY 2022 county budget, approved in April, his department was unable to compete with neighboring jurisdictions to attract and retain the high-quality officers.

The Goochland Sheriff’s Office has an excellent reputation in law enforcement circles throughout the Commonwealth. Our LEOs are so good that they are actively recruited by other agencies. The ranks of local, state, and national law enforcement—including the FBI—contain officers who got their start as Goochland deputies.

Creasey explained that the first three years’ cost of training a new deputy is $46,871.22. This includes salary during academy and field training, but does not reflect the cost of academy classes, uniforms, and equipment. Every time a trained, sworn deputy leaves for greener pastures, they take the value of this training with them, and Goochland gets to spend more money on new recruits.

A chart comparing starting pay for law enforcement agencies in our region showed that Goochland, with starting pay of $47,380 was at the bottom of the barrel. Henrico, at $51,913 has the highest initial salary. Other jurisdictions also have incentives for lateral hires—officers trained and sworn at a Virginnia law enforcement agency. Goochland has none at this time.

Results of a recent anonymous survey of current Goochland LEOs found that 62 percent of our deputies have been actively recruited by neighbors where they can receive higher pay. Creasey said that larger law enforcement agencies focus their recruitment efforts on hiring officers that are already certified, saving the cost of initial training. “If 62 percent of our staff gave two weeks’ notice, we’d be in trouble.”

The 12 percent increase will be for sworn personnel only, said Creasey. This will raise starting salary to $53,066 effective July 1, 2021. “That will send a shock wave through the law enforcement community, “said Creasey. “Then we will have the best qualified candidates looking at Goochland, which demonstrates a strong commitment to the men and women in our sheriff’s office.”

As of July 1, the GCSO will have several new deputy slots to fill.

Board Chair John Lumpkins, Jr., District 3, said that this issue has come to the fore now because neighboring counties played their cards close to the vest about LEO compensation. Creasey said that if Goochland does not do something soon, we will be behind the curve.

Ken Peterson, District 5, thanked deputies present in the room for their service and professional demeanor as they serve the citizens. As the requested increase was based on information that came to light after the April approval of the FY22 budget, he wondered aloud if there could be regional cooperation to deal with the competition.

The total cost of the increase for salary and benefits is $425,000. The board voted to appropriate the amount, with the funds coming from real estate taxes. The vote was emphatically unanimous.

Neil Spoonhower, District 2, observed that Goochland is a special place. While this vote is at the local level, Spoonhower contended, it has national implications. “This signals that we do support our law enforcement. There is no time in my lifetime that something this important needs to be done. I am proud to signal that we do support our law enforcement.” His vote was a resounding yes.

Lumpkins also thanked our deputies for their service to the community. “You won’t hear defund the police around here,” he said.

Dealing with a companion issue, the board also voted unanimously to fund a full-time entry-level Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney position, whose primary duty will be to review body camera footage. The position was mandated by the Virginia General Assembly. Initially, the state compensation board, which provides fund for Constitutional Officers, was expected to fund $56k of the job, the county to pick up the balance. Deputy County Administrator for Finance and Administrative Services Barbara Horlacher said that the money for the position will come from public service corporation taxes to fill the gap between the $56K in the budget and the $65k salary being offered.

Goochland Commonwealth’s Attorney D. Michael Caudill, whose office was targeted by protestors earlier this year in connection with a fatal shooting on Interstate 64, explained the issue. His office has two prosecutors, Caudill and Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Ashely Thompson.

Caudill said he was notified in 2019 that any locality in Virgina that uses body cameras shall be required to establish and fund an entry level assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney position.  Caudill said that in 2019, he and Thompson were able to review all body cam footage. In FY 2020, his office had to deal with 593 hours and 42 minutes of footage, which they are ethically obligated to watch.

“This is not like watching Cops on TV,” Caudill explained. The police report is compared with the camera footage to make sure they are seeing what occurred. Camera footage, said Caudill “gives the feel and flavor of what happened.”  For instance, Caudill said that he and Thompson spent many hours watching and rewatching the 12 minutes of Virginia State Police dash camera footage from the I64 incident.

If multiple officers are present an incident all footage from each deputy must be carefully reviewed. This protects the accused and LEOs. “It’s incumbent on us to make sure that we understand that the body camera shows what it shows and is interpreted based on what the (police) report says,” Caudill explained.

In order to maintain competence, integrity, transparency, and ethics, a position to focus primarily on body camera footage review is needed in his office, said Caudill.

Right now, Caudill said, Goochland does not have enough body camera footage to qualify for state funding of the position, which indicates our crime level is low.

Hours of the footage are expected to increase as the number of deputies rises and the world opens up after Covid. Caudill said the assistant will also review jail call and social media. “You won’t believe how much evidence we can get from someone’s social media account,” Caudill said. The assistant must be a full-fledged attorney and member of the Bar.

The supervisors voted unanimously to approve and fund the position. The board told Caudill and the sheriff to let them know if they need additional support.

The supervisors met in closed session at the end of their afternoon agenda on June 1 to discuss plans related to the security of any governmental facility, building or structure, or the safety of persons using such facility, building or structure.