RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — After months of Richmond not having a permanent top cop, the City is now officially accepting applications for the position of Richmond Police Chief.
While the job position was officially announced to the public on Thursday, April 6, the POLIHIRE job listing was posted on Tuesday, April 4. POLIHIRE, which is described as a national executive search firm specializing in senior-level positions in government agencies and nonprofits, will serve as the host for the job listing.
The very first piece of information offered in the detailed job description is how much the future chief will be earning. The listing marks the potential annual salary for the job as being between $155,234 and $247,986 — a nearly six-figure difference in range. According to Salary.com, the current median salary for a United State police chief is $116,400 a year.
Basic qualifications for the positions are a bachelor’s degree in a field related to law enforcement and at least 10 years of law enforcement experience. Five of those years must have been in a senior-level position. A master’s degree in law enforcement is also preferred.
The listing emphasizes not only the experience of the future police chief but their expertise in running a department and working with the community. The qualified applicant will need to have demonstrated mastery in emergency management, crime prevention, and community policing, as well as expertise in law, human resources, technology, problem-solving and communication.
Richmond is also looking for a future police chief who is knowledgeable about urban environments, and in particular, knows what makes Richmond unique. The complete POLIHIRE listing even contains a brief description of Richmond’s cultural identity, with emphasis on the city’s fine arts presence and the available golf courses in the area.
The job posting will remain open until the position is filled.
According to the City, all of the listed requirements for the future chief were created with feedback from the community.
“After taking some time to receive feedback from residents, community partners, and stakeholders about what they would like to see in the next Police Chief, the city is poised for a new beginning and is steadfast in recruiting and attracting topnotch professionals who possess ingenuity, ethics, integrity, and a passion for the people of Richmond,” a release from the City said.
Acting Chief Rick Edwards has been heading the Richmond Police Department since last year, when former chief Gerald Smith announced at the end of October that he was resigning from the department and would be on administrative leave until the end of 2022.
