VIRGINIA (WOAY) – The Virginia State Police is welcoming the New Year and a new decade with a new recruitment website. Located at www.vatrooper.com, the site is the first of its kind for the Department and highlights the Virginia State Police mission, culture, Academy life and extensive career opportunities available to trooper-trainees.
“This website has been a long-time coming and we recognize its vital importance towards attracting a new generation of diverse applicants to join the state police family,” said Colonel Gary T. Settle, Virginia State Police Superintendent. “The site is mobile-friendly and highlights the multitude of unique career opportunities the Virginia State Police has to offer those interested in a law enforcement career.”
The new website, created in partnership with CapTech Consulting, provides a user-friendly, informative experience for those visiting the site. In an effort to reach a broader, more diverse population of applicants, the site provides a behind-the-scenes narrative of life as a trooper, the steps to becoming a Virginia trooper, training, career opportunities, benefits, Recruitment Unit contacts and direct access to an employment application. The mobile-friendly website will soon include video vignettes featuring state police personnel and their stories.
“We, as a statewide law enforcement agency, must reflect the populations we serve and protect across the Commonwealth,” said Colonel Settle. “Every trooper is held to an oath to perform his or her duties ‘…without fear, favor, or prejudice.’ This new recruitment website is specifically designed to reinforce our employees’ dedication to duty with each and every contact we have with the public. The Virginia State Police is fully committed to embrace inclusivity and diversity in all its forms, especially among its workforce.”
“There are a host of best practices to advance workforce diversity and inclusion,” said Dr. Janice Underwood, Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer for the Commonwealth of Virginia. “This recruitment website is only one of those many tools and an important step in Virginia State Police’s overall commitment to diversifying its workforce. While we have much more to do, this step signals the state police’s continuing efforts to achieve a fundamental shift in its sworn workforce and the overall culture of the agency, so that it can more effectively serve and protect a diverse Commonwealth. I am looking forward to working together to further this important work, so that the agency becomes a national exemplar for issues relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion in law enforcement.”
By the end of this year, the state police Recruitment Unit will have made contact with more than 2,300 Virginians and out-of-state residents in its ongoing efforts to build a more diversified workforce by attracting women and men of the highest quality and character.
“Virginia’s robust economy makes for a very competitive field among all employers to attract and retain qualified job seekers,” said Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Brian Moran. “In an effort to help state police fill critical positions, Governor Northam committed this year to pay raises for all state employees and previously supported an increase in the starting salary for new state troopers. The launch of the state police recruitment website expands the Department’s reach and access to potential applicants.”
Starting salary for a new trooper entering the Virginia State Police Academy is $44,290. Not only do trooper-trainees earn a salary while training at the Academy, but also receive benefits including life insurance, health insurance, sick leave and paid vacation. Twelve months following graduation from the State Police Academy, a new trooper’s annual salary increases to $48,719. Troopers assigned to the Northern Virginia region start at $55,340 upon graduation and then, 12 months after graduation, their annual salary increases to $60,874. For more information on salary, benefits, training, etc., go to www.vatrooper.com and contact a state police recruiter.
