On Wednesday, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis spoke to 7News for the first time after internally announcing FCPD’s staffing emergency.
“We have 138 actual vacancies,” Davis told 7News. “We have 51 young people in our academy, eventually going to come into the fold. So while they’re not in the fold, that equates to 189 operational vacancies. We’ve never been that high. I want to own it, do something.”
Right now existing officers are working longer shifts which include mandatory overtime and other shift changes that impact officers’ work schedules.
“The challenges are real and we don’t take the challenges lightly,” said Davis. “We are a solution-oriented team here. And we know we have to do things a little bit differently. The last thing I want to do is to make a decision that negatively impacts police officers’ life because we want work-life balance. We also have a responsibility to keep our community safe. We think we do that really, really well consistently. And it’s true that Fairfax County remains one of the largest safest jurisdictions in the country. That doesn’t mean that we’re not experiencing challenges. I want every cop here to stay. I want every police officer here to know that they are needed in the fight. Whether you have 27 years on or one year on, whether you’re a deputy chief patrol officer, first class, we need everyone.”
“This profession, I believe, still remains a noble one, a meaningful one,” said Davis. “I still think the rewards of this profession are worth all the challenges that we have to endure.”
“With these new shift changes happening, officers working longer hours—maybe [they’re] more tired. Are you afraid that there might be mistakes made?” 7News Reporter Nick Minock asked Davis.
“Well, our police department has probably the best commitment that I’ve ever seen. Again, I’ve worked for places now all large jurisdictions,” said Davis.
“We value work-life balance and families because we want our officers to be mentally sound. But I understand this as well, when we’re involuntarily holding police officers behind their tour duty every day, that’s not sustainable,” Davis added.
Chief Davis says recruiting new officers has been a challenge.
_______________
Stay up to date with our social media:
WJLA on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wjlatv/
WJLA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ABC7News
Subscribe to WJLA on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfIjR00qhYUFkbWIugAAbGg/?sub_confirmation=1
Daily News Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSvyoe-YmPKDGkW96ly8Qt_JR67erE_zt
For more information, visit https://wjla.com/
Have a news tip? Send it directly to us:
Email us: newsdesk@wjla.com
Call the Newsroom: 703.236.9480
WJLA is the local ABC affiliate for the greater Washington DC area. From our studios in Arlington, VA ABC7 covers national and local news, sports, and weather.
#WJLA #abc7news #DCNews
This video and all Sinclair Broadcast Group content archives of local news and sports coverage are available for your use. For more information contact us at contentsales@sbgtv.com