Chesterfield Police 2002 Annual Report

Our History and Our Future

Tracing its origins to 1749, Chesterfield County is a diversely populated county of more than 271,000 residents. Central to the counties of Amelia, Charles City, Dinwiddie, Henrico, Powhatan and Prince George, and the cities of Richmond, Colonial Heights, Hopewell and Petersburg, Chesterfield County is situated on lands rich in history and the origins of our nation. The largest county in the Richmond metropolitan area, Chesterfield straddles the major north-south artery along the East Coast, Interstate 95.

The Chesterfield County Police Department can point with pride to its origins in 1900. The department has grown from two officers to a professionally accredited organization with an authorized strength of 592 men and women. While the department's annual operating budget for 2002 exceeded $30 million, it still maintains the lowest cost per capita for police services in the Richmond area and well below the national average.

Over the years, the police department has adopted philosophies supporting the initiative to provide a“First Choice” community to citizens. The department has the responsibility of providing residents and businesses with a safe and secure community in which to live and prosper by responding to all calls for service, investigating crime, apprehending and suppressing criminals, and providing traffic enforcement and drug education. These tasks are accomplished by providing innovative, effective police services and engaging in a partnership with the citizens of our county. Our reputation of being tough on crime evolves from department personnel working as a team to create winning strategies and striving to make them happen.

The Chesterfield County Police Department has employed modern technology and quality training to create one of the most efficient and productive law- enforcement agencies in the state. Functionally organized into four bureaus, our officers provide community police services from two district stations, offices in two major shopping malls, all schools throughout the county and through specialized teams in the air and on the ground and water. Citizen involvement in 303 Neighborhood Watch programs and a Special Police Force comprised of 30 volunteers is indicative of the level of support our officers receive from county residents. Additionally, an advanced Police Training Academy provides training to officers and residents alike and graduated 17 new police officers and 36 citizens in the past year.

Our department looks forward with the realization those challenges facing communities throughout our nation will impact Chesterfield County significantly and will require quality recruiting, greater technological advancement and significant strides forward in training and operational efficiency to meet the demands of the new millennium. Plans are in place to increase staffing to serve the expected 10 percent increase in population over the next two years. We will continue to place great emphasis on the establishment and maintenance of community partnerships to help ensure safe neighborhoods. Expanded community-policing initiatives, optimization of our organization and continued outreach programs designed to educate the public will all help make Chesterfield County one of the safest and most secure communities in the United States.

We are devoted to our citizenry and welcome future challenges. We are a nationally recognized leader among law enforcement agencies and will continue to provide the highest-quality service to the citizens. Through the use of state-of-the-art information and policing technologies, innovation in community service and operational flexibility, we will respond to crime unceasingly in the coming years just as we have done for the past century. More than 80 years of service to the citizens of Chesterfield County is our legacy, one for which we stand and serve proudly.

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