Marketing and job fairs

San Jose recently partnered with the ROTC to advertise directly on their material in order to gain access across the country, with a memorandum of agreement being signed. The department also markets to colleges and universities in the area and speaks at universities as far away as Florida, Chicago and New York. It has worked with veteran reserve centers and held job fairs, including specific military job fairs on military bases.

“In 2018 we did 16 military job fairs in addition to all the other job fairs we do,” he said.

Newport News, Va.

Newport News Chief of Police Steve Drew said, because of the city’s unique location, “Every officer I talk to is somehow connected to the military — whether it be through a spouse or other family member.”

Newport News is “surrounded by the military” with the Naval Shipyard and the Army’s Fort Eustis being right in town. There is also nearby Norfolk Naval Station and Langley Air Force Base in Hampton.

“Newport News has always been a department that’s heavily relied on those who served,” he said, estimating the department is close to 40% in regards to those with military service, including time spent in the Reserves.

The department also has a lot of “home grown” officers who get out of the service and want to continue to serve in their community.

“They (veterans) come with life experience and self-discipline that comes from some of the situations they’ve been in. The level of self-confidence they have is the biggest difference I’ve seen, they don’t get easily overwhelmed,” he said.

Officers can learn from each other — the younger officers who come straight from college can learn from those who’ve served in the armed forces.

Drew said they no longer have an educational requirement for any officers; he did away with that when he took the position a year and a half ago. He said there is an educational requirement built in to be promoted to captain, lieutenant and assistant chief.

This July he will be removing the education requirement for sergeant; instead, years of on-the-job experience will be equal to the two years — or 60 credits — of education now required for that promotion. Drew said his department’s most valuable asset is the people and the amount of training and experience they offer. He doesn’t want to dismiss the value of education, but “I don’t want the lack of education to be a deterrent.”

Rather Drew wants to ensure he has the best leadership in the field and believes the experience and military background that the officers have is invaluable. He said the veterans tend to have natural leadership qualities, can work well with others and tend not to complain if there are shift or schedule changes.

“They understand the mission — we’re here to serve the community,” he said.

Even those who are civilians working for the military are a tremendous asset. He gave an example of a woman retired from the Navy who the department hired to help with the tons of requests for body camera footage, etc. She understood the law, had experience and she totally revamped the department’s system.

“She’s done a phenomenal job, and she’s only been here six months,” Drew said.

Newport News hires a lot of people retired from the military for part-time work in different aspects. “How they interact with people and get things done — they’re very efficient. That’s something you can’t teach. They’re very adaptable.”

Drew gets calls all the time from other departments wondering how he fills vacancies so fast.

“We are very blessed — very fortunate,” he said, adding Newport News doesn’t really do anything to specifically market to veterans. “We’re rich enough in close proximity.”

One thing Newport News initiated last year was if an officer served in the military, they are allowed to wear their pin on their uniform. Drew said it initiates conversation out in the community and does help with recruiting.

The department has a really good relationship with Fort Eustis, and together they do a lot of events while also helping each other out in emergency situations.

“Building those relationships are so valuable — we have a great partnership,”
Drew said.

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