VIRGINIA

POLICE BEN EVOLENT ASSOCIATION

A Division of Southern States Police Benevolent Association
2l 55 HiShway 42 S
McDonough, GA 30252-7 636
(770) 389-s39 r . (800) 233-3s06
Fax: (7701 349-4572 . (8661 337-7722
www.sspba.org

September 16,2021

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors

12000 Govemment Center Parkway
Suite 530
Fairfax, VA 22035

Dear Honorable Members of the Board of Supervisors,

In the spring, Fairfax County made the unprecedented move of selecting an outside police chiefto
help restore the faith in the departnent that had fallen so abruptly in the past couple of years. It
was heartening to see that the Board of Supervisors would take the issue of police department
morale so seriously. For many officers, this offered the chance to see their departnent once again
move to the forefront of law enforcement while tackling the renewed need for community
engagement and partnership. Put more simply, it was hope that the careers that they had built in
Fairfax County were valued by those working in the County Government Center.

I write today asking for your continued commitment to those same working police officers and
detectives. As a deparftnent, we are facing a new reality. We are more than a hundred offrcers short
ofour approved stafEng levels and losing more by the week. Our patol officers are pressed to do
more each day while they cover the workload of those ofEcers whom we have lost. In
investigations, our detectives are trlng desperately to maintain a working caseload while violent
crime is rising rapidly in our jurisdiction, one which has always prided itself on its low crime rates
for such a populqus area.

The County can never recover its police staffing in this environment without positive changes and
a public affirmation of support from the Board of Supervisors. Recruiting new police officers has
always been a challenge, from the time it takes to vet them to the time it takes to tain them. In
the last five years we have also seen sunounding jurisdictions step up to their challenges and
increase police pay. New pay scales in nearby counties like Prince William and Loudoun have
meant that young officers in Fairfax, who have felt left behind by management, are now looking
at lateral transfer programs offering great pay and prospects for the future.

The Voice of Law Enforcement Officers

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Looking to our police academy right now, we are hopeful that our current session of 27 police
recruits will all make it through training and join our ranks. But, even if they do, it will only replace
the 27 officers who are required to depart the County by the end of the year in the Deferred
Retirement Option Plan (DROP). This will not help us with the several dozen who will
undoubtedly unexpectedly leave to join other departrnents or career paths.

While many would point to the prospect of collective bargaining as a pathway to correct our ftozen
pay scale, which has been used so many times to balance the county budge! we just cannot wait
24 months or longer to assess the damage. We must be honest that staffrng is a problem, before it
becomes a catastrophe. When the pressing load of increased responsibilities mees the knowledge
that hard work is only rewarded with stagnant pay, the officers of this departrnent will do what
they think is best for their families and leave this agency.

I knqw that is not what any of the members of the Board of Supervisors want to see. While our
new Chief was a great step forward, the County must nurture that retum to normalcy with further
invesfinent. It is incumbent on the Board to back Chief Davis in regaining the commitment of the
line offrcers of this department. He has stated publicly that he will voice the need for police officer
pay to meet the needs of recruitment and retention, and, in this endeavor, the Fairfax County
Chapter of the Virginia PBA backs him fully.

Merit steps and, especially, longevity steps must be restored with back pay to the officers who lost
them. These steps are essentially payments for the knowledge and experience that make a great
police officer. Why would we freeze the salary of tenured officers who can so easily transfer to
other agencies or.to federal jobs? We have little time. Hiring is a slow process in law enforcement
due to the intense scrutiny of every candidate. Often, before that process is complete, those
applications have already been filed with surroundingjurisdictions. Ifwe are to head offthe exodus
of talented young officers, the County must show them that they are valued here in Fairfax County.

Additionally, we must bolster the pay ofour line officers, up to Second Lieutenant. These are the
positions that most impact our agency's success, and the ones most likely to leave for better pay.
If Fairfax County wants to be the employer of choice in the region, it must match that resolve in
its pay scale. It is no surprise that the number of qualified applicants is down in the political
environment that surrounds this career. What better way to attract those limited, well-qualified
candidates, than with the advertisement of the top pay in Northem Virginia, something that this
agency has not been able to advertise in more than a decade. This means that the County must be
prepared to move everyone, from ofiicers (O-17) to Second Lieutenants (O-22), up at least a grade
in the pay scale, making a statement to both cunent and future officers that this County is a career,
and that the retention ofour talented officers is a budget priority.
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This County's police departrnent has a national reputation due to the rigorous selection and training
of its officen and supervisors. We need to retain that talent here. Each of us knows what the
solution to this problem is, and it does not require a lot of analysis. What we need is the courage
to carry this investnent in our human capital through the budget, as the Board meets for the
quarterly review. In short, it is time to make that statement nov/, and to right this ship, before the
law enforcement shortage and ongoing exodus becomes a calamity for Fairfax County.

I thank you and hope that you will continue to support us in our mission of keeping Fairfax County
a safe and prosperous communit5r for many years to come.

Respecffirlly,

The Fairfax County Chapter Board-Virginia PBA