Retiring officers, lagging benefits packages and stiff competition from other law enforcement agencies could complicate a police recruitment push in Fairfax County, said a top department official.
The bundle of factors could prove to be an obstacle to fulfilling growing needs for police staff, according to Ed Roessler, commander of the Administrative Support Bureau. The Fairfax County Police Department is competing with Northern Virginia departments in Loudoun and Prince William counties, but also the Capitol Police, U.S. Park Police and Maryland agencies, he said.
“It’s a competitive market throughout the whole mid-Atlantic,” he said.
Roessler said the department is now seeking to fill 29 immediate vacancies and counter an attrition rate of about four officers each month.
He expects the immediate vacancies to dwindle in the next few weeks with a recent successes in hiring. Looking ahead, however, the department had set a tentative goal of hiring 100 new positions in about a year; that need may increase if more police decide to retire. A large number of officers hired in the early 1980’s may be planning to end their careers over the next few years, the commander said.
For the largest local law enforcement agency in Virginia, the effort to replenish the ranks could be tough.
“Suggestions have been made that we lower our standards,” said Penelope Gross, who represents the Mason District on the Board of Supervisors. “We are not interested in lowering our standards.”
Only about 30 percent of police officers live in Fairfax County, a phenomenon blamed largely on the county’s sky-high home prices. That means officers are faced with not only greater transportation costs, but also cuts in the time they spend with their families.
Beginning salaries are about $45,000.
“Our salary is competitive,” said Roessler. “But when we start looking at benefits — health care and retirement benefits are an item that some other jurisdictions have better packages to offer than we do.”
