Richmond VA?

[borne_identity]

Anyone got any info on this dept. I spoke to a recruiter he said they have 2 to 3 small classes a year.

anyone know how long to top pay? is there alot of OT, i believe they have 12 hr shifts, but im not sure what there chart is like.
also i was curious as to if you pass the process this month will you make the spring class this year.
any info would be appreciated on this dept.

[ChesCopPodz]

Your top pay will most likely be your last year. They don't top out at anything, they get a percentage raise every year until they retire.

They just switched to 10 hour shifts. They have some wierd scheduling that I'm not exactly sure of though. I kow it's not work 4 days and have 3 off though.

I don't know when they start classes but I would venture to think that at this time it may be a bit too late to get into the spring class. Like I said though, I'm not completely sure. If they start a class in late April there could be enough time.

[borne_identity]

i think there shooting for july, but im thinking what are the odds i dont know if there running from state to state to recruit people giving test and physicals, i always wonder y agencies travel up to 5 states away when there only looking for 25-50 people. makes u wonder y

[CamoShark]

Look on policepay.net They have all kinds of useful information on pay.

[Mike Romeo]

Forget Richmond, we need you on the Peninsula! :D

[borne_identity]

thanks i checked it out
but it doesnt state how LONG it takes to reach top pay or when you become an officer II or Officer III

anyone ever go through the process? or in process now?

[Mike Romeo]

thanks i checked it out
but it doesnt state how LONG it takes to reach top pay or when you become an officer II or Officer III

anyone ever go through the process? or in process now?

You become a Level II after one year of employment.

You become a Level III after three years of employment.

You become eligable for SGT testing at five years.

You become eligable for Master police officer after 10 years.

[ChesCopPodz]

thanks i checked it out
but it doesnt state how LONG it takes to reach top pay or when you become an officer II or Officer III

anyone ever go through the process? or in process now?

If you're still referring to Richmond I already told you. Since you get a % raise each year, you will top out in your last year working because you will have a percentage more than the year before. Since retirement is 25 years, it will take 25 years to reach top pay.

[borne_identity]

25 year retirement? there advertising 20 years, r u sure about that?

[Valor55]

From the officers I've met there, you may want to be aware of some issues. The city is highly politicized and the police are the red headed step chilren. Morale isn't great, pay isn't great compared to other areas in the state. You can definitely get much better pay, benefits and working environment in other areas of the state. Talk to Mike Romeo about the peninsula, ChesCopPodz about Chesterfield (southern border with Richmond) and Richmond City would be the last place in the state I'd be a cop.

[ChesCopPodz]

25 year retirement? there advertising 20 years, r u sure about that?

You're right, my bad. An example of the fact that they don't go along with the state retirement system. Valor hit it on the head. You can make more money and have less stress, both political and work call volume, by going with Chesterfield, Henrico, or Hanover and there are good departments on the coast and the mountains

[borne_identity]

so are they aggressive dept or are they one of these reactive depts that dont want you to get involved? I can see why now there recruting all the way up on the east coast if its really this bad. i notice they have a very high murder rate, there in the top ten like every year. i thought it was odd they recruit all over when they only have real small classes of 25-50 people unless there super picky dq'ing everyone for any little thing.

[borne_identity]

anyone testing with them lately

[webjeep]

Working a city, especially one like Richmond you are going to be stressed. Not because of the work, not by the scumbags, but by the department and the city. Virginia is a right to work state. We can have unions, but we have no collective bargaining and they pretty much have no teeth to get anything done. That means that you are looking at a department that is politically motivated and policy is dictated by the winds of the community. The cops have no say. The old timers collect their paychecks. The command staff wants you to look good, and not make waves. When looking at jurisidictions in VA you really need to look at the locality and the politics.

Trust me when I say that working for a city that is more concerned with blindly throwing money at social problems and any cool new thing that makes them look or sound like they care than making the city a nice place sucks.

20 year retirement is nice, but why do you think they had to go to that?

Can anyone say recruitment/retention issues?

We're going through the same problems, but our city won't give us anything to offer to make it better.

Don't get me wrong. There are some aspects that I really like about working in a screwed up backasswards socialist city, but none of them have anything to do with the department or the (mis)management of the city itself. They are all aspects of the job and the community that bring me what shred of sanity that I still have. If you are strong enough in your convictions to be in the job for the right reasons then you may do some good there. Don't expect to change the department, just understand that you may be on your own sometimes.

Hope I didn't scare you, Richmond has potential, but it takes a good deal of patience to work in ceratin circumstances.

Good luck.

[Valor55]

Ditto webjeep. Richmond's the kind of place where politics will determine your enforcement and discipline.