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Welcome back to the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. Today I’m talking to Brendan and Carl, two Richmond police officers and the president and vice-president, respectively of RCOP. RCOP is the Richmond Coalition of Police and they exist to speak up for the fair treatment of Richmond’s police officers, as well as to give officers a voice when it comes to expressing their concerns for safety and pay. I asked Brendan and Carl to come on the podcast so that they could speak about what’s going on with the rank and file of the police department. As you’ll be able to tell from the interview, both officers are proud to be Richmond police officers and want what’s best for the members of the police department, but also what’s best for the residents of the city.
I’d like to thank Brendan and Carl for being on the podcast and for giving the officers of Richmond a voice. As Carl mentioned, the morale within the department has been on a slow decline for years, but the events of 2020 accelerated the loss of morale. How ridiculous is it that a City of Richmond officer makes less than that of a college campus police officer and that college campus is in the heart of the city? And that’s not a dig at the campus police officers; they are absolutely some of the finest officers I’ve ever met. Carl also mentioned that it would take (9) years for a Richmond police officer just coming out of the academy to make as much as the starting pay for a Henrico officer. Unbelievable.
The bottom line is that Richmond officers, generally, face more calls for sexual assaults, shootings, stabbings and homicides than their suburban counterparts. Not to mention the amount of property crimes that occur in the city on a daily basis. Yet the city officers are payed far less than nearly every other jurisdiction.
But, both officers are hanging in there because they have hope for the department and hope for the city. That’s what it’s all about. I’m proud of them and every other officer who stays with the department and believes that being a police officer in the city is the most noble professions there is.
Look out for one another and spread peace, not hate.
Together, we can cake a difference.
Thanks for listening.
