Report of the Virginia State Police Salary Review Workgroup

Report of the

Virginia State Police Salary Review

Workgroup

October 2021

pg. 2 
 
To:    The Honorable Ralph S. Northam, Governor of Virginia 
The Honorable Janet D. Howell, Chair, Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee 
The Honorable Luke E. Torian, Chair, House Appropriations Committee 
The Honorable Brian J. Moran, Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security 
Mr. Daniel S. Timberlake, Director, Department of Planning and Budget 
 
The attached report of the Virginia State Police Salary Review Workgroup is submitted pursuant to 
direction from Special Session II of the 2021 General Assembly. Consistent with the language 
directing the workgroup, the workgroup convened on multiple occasions from late August until 
early October. The workgroup report fulfills the language’s direction to develop a plan to address 
the Department’s recruiting and retention challenges. 
The workgroup report is structured into the following sections and appendices: 
Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................... 3 
I.  Commonwealth commitment to addressing VSP salary issues and formation of workgroup ...... 4 
II.  Workgroup activities ............................................................................................................................. 4 
III.  VSP compensation challenges ............................................................................................................. 5 
IV.  VSP compensation objectives ........................................................................................................... 10 
V.  Recommended Action – Starting salary increase ................................................................................ 12 
VI.  Recommended Action – Leverage increased salary for new recruits to further increase 
diversity of applicant pool .............................................................................................................................. 13 
VII.  Recommended Action – Address pay compression ...................................................................... 14 
VIII.  Recommended Action – Incentivize promotions ...................................................................... 16 
IX.  Recommended Action – Provide new, modest annual salary increase ....................................... 17 
X.  Recommended Action – Offer financial incentive to obtain an associates or higher degree .. 18 
XI.  Allocation of one-time bonuses ........................................................................................................ 18 
XII.  Summary Recommendations ............................................................................................................. 20 
Appendix A – Virginia State Police Salary Workgroup Authorization .................................................... 23 
Appendix B – Comparison of salaries to regional states and major local police departments............. 24 
Appendix C – Decline in newly-hired troopers who complete the training academy ........................... 28 
Appendix D – Current diversity and ongoing, recent diversity initiatives .............................................. 29 
Appendix E – New VSP compensation plan, by rank ............................................................................... 32 
Appendix F – DHRM as a Decentralized Executive Branch Agency ..................................................... 33 

pg. 3

Executive Summary

 At the conclusion of FY21, VSP had 330 vacancies and 27% of frontline operational

positions were vacant. VSP’s increasing vacancy rate is due to (i) fewer trooper applicants

and (ii) more sworn employees at various levels choosing to leave VSP.

 The substantial vacancies are placing additional burdens on the remaining workforce. Staff

overtime has increased and perceived morale problems and “burnout” are becoming more

widespread.

 VSP strongly desires to improve the diversity of its applicant pool and the entire workforce.

 Over time, a variety of issues have led to salary compression affecting many employees to

varying degrees. The most severe salary compression has led to more than 10% of staff

earning a higher salary than their supervisors.

 Fewer experienced staff are applying for promotions, partly because VSP’s current

promotional structure unintentionally incentivizes delaying promotion until after locking in

the longevity-based pay increase for progressing to senior trooper.

 The number of trooper applicants with college degrees is declining relative to the existing

workforce. This is particularly concerning because it runs counter to the criminal justice

reform movement’s call for greater professionalism in law enforcement.

 VSP is keenly aware that an increase in appropriations alone will not fully address its

recruiting, morale, and retention challenges. However, it believes that one-time bonuses and

salary increases will mitigate (and hopefully substantially reduce) the barrier that current

salaries present to current and prospective employees.

 The workgroup has identified several recommended actions, each designed to address

specific recruiting, staff morale, and retention challenges. These actions, and the challenges

they are intended to address, are summarized in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1: Expected Impact of Targeted Compensation Actions:

Increasing

vacant

staff

positions

Declining

number &

quality of

applicants

Lack of

applicant

diversity

Increasing

difficulty

retaining

existing staff

Salary

compression

Declining

staff morale

Insufficient

interest in

supervisory

promotions

Increase starting salary

Leverage increased salary to futher

increase in diversity of applicant pool

Targeted salary increases based on

salary compression

Provide annual & career progression

salary increases via pay scale step plan

Financial incentive for college degree

One-time bonuses

pg. 4

 As Figure 1 indicates, no single action or subset of actions is sufficient to address VSP’s

challenges identified in this report. The workgroup therefore recommends implementation

of all of the recommended compensation actions jointly, as a comprehensive plan to

respond to VSP’s sworn recruitment and retention problems.

 The total cost to implement these recommendations is $24.3M, with more than 90% of the

funding directed at increasing the starting salary for troopers and addressing pay

compression among experienced employees.

 As a near term measure to respond to VSP’s sworn recruitment and retention challenges, the

workgroup recommends allocating the $20M General Assembly appropriation for bonuses

as follows: (i) $10.3M to provide one-time bonuses of $5,000 to each sworn employee in

November 2021; (ii) $900,000 in $5,000 to recruitment bonuses to new trooper recruits who

become employed during FY22 and in moving expense reimbursements to troopers who

graduate the basic school in FY22; (iii) retention and compression bonuses totaling $8.8M to

be paid to sworn employees in May 2022.

 The workgroup also recommends that VSP evaluate the effectiveness of these actions over

time and work with DHRM to review its job classification structure.

I. Commonwealth commitment to addressing VSP salary issues

and formation of workgroup

Recognizing the challenges presented by the precipitous decline in trooper applications and

increasing departures of experienced sworn employees, the Governor and General Assembly

promulgated a two-part strategy to restore VSP’s operational capacity. First, the 2021 Special Session

II budget appropriated $20M in recruitment, retention, and compression bonuses for sworn

personnel so that VSP could offer incentives to bridge the gap until permanent salary adjustments

can be made in FY23. The budget also expressed the intention of committing an additional $20M

(understood as an approximate earmark) to provide permanent salary increases for VSP’s sworn

personnel. The budget directed that a workgroup develop a compensation plan to addresses barriers

to VSP’s ability to recruit and retain qualified and diverse law enforcement personnel.

II. Workgroup activities

The Virginia State Police convened this workgroup as directed, consisting of staff from VSP,

DHRM, and JLARC. The workgroup met weekly from late August through early October 2021.

Prior to the workgroup, VSP had been working on their own research, analysis and

recommendations for DHRM and JLARC to review and consult. Between workgroup meetings the

workgroup participants conducted additional research, analysis, and held discussions to inform the

workgroup deliberations.

VSP, DHRM (described in Appendix F), and JLARC each have their own internal policies,

procedures, and methodologies that guide their organizational reporting processes. Because this

report represents a collaborative effort of all workgroup participants, no single organizational

pg. 5

approach was adopted. Instead, the workgroup employed an approach in which all participants

contributed to the final product.

The workgroup had a relatively short period of time within which to assess VSP’s problems and

identify actions to address them. The workgroup is confident in its assessment and proposed

actions, but lacked certain research which would have been conducted under a longer term effort

(e.g. employee interviews, survey of all VSP staff, real time exit surveys, spans and layers analysis of

supervisory structure). The workgroup has, therefore, recommended that VSP evaluate the

effectiveness of the proposed workgroup actions in FY 24 and refine its approach as needed over

time.

III. VSP compensation challenges

At the conclusion of FY21, VSP had 330 vacancies. Because vacancies at higher ranks are filled

through promotion as they arise, the impact of these vacancies is felt disproportionately at the front

lines, where approximately 27% of positions were vacant. As recently as FY16, this vacancy rate was

12%. The additional vacancies have begun to hinder VSP’s ability to effectively conduct core

functions and are also placing greater demands on the remaining smaller sworn workforce. Slower

turnaround times and work backlogs are not options for an emergency response agency. As a result,

VSP leadership has demanded that its employees work harder and longer to compensate for staff

shortages. This has resulted in over $22M in excess mandatory overtime costs in the last four years

alone, and trends are worsening.

Demanding so much of a smaller workforce also contributes to

more turnover and concerns about the overall wellness of employees who are not afforded sufficient

time to decompress from the stressful and traumatic events that they routinely face.

Challenge: Sworn employee recruitment

Approximately 53% of this dramatic increase in VSP’s sworn vacancy rate is attributable to the

inability to hire a sufficient number of trooper applicants. VSP can train 180 new troopers per year,

but over the last five years, they have only filled 75% of their training academy seats because of

recruiting challenges. Significantly, VSP has not had the luxury of selectivity in its hiring choices: It

has hired every minimally qualified applicant over this period. However, VSP cannot hire those who

never apply. This same five-year period has seen a 40% reduction in the number of trooper

applicants to VSP, and—worse yet—a doubling of the percentage of applicants who ultimately do

not select VSP for their careers.

As applicant interest has waned, so has the quality of the applicant pool, as measured by the

percentage of applicants who are able to meet the Department of Criminal Justice Services training

objectives for law enforcement officers and graduate the state police training academy. Historically,

In FY17, VSP incurred $4.8M in mandatory overtime, which it considers to be an approximate baseline figure

necessary for emergency operations. By FY19, mandatory overtime costs had risen to $12.2M (an increase of 155%).

These figures have remained high even despite the temporary reduction in enforcement activity during the “lockdown”

phases of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As recently as 2015, trooper applicants to VSP ultimately chose the Department for their career 33% of the time. By

2019, that percentage had dropped to 16%.

pg. 6

80% of newly-hired troopers successfully completed the training academy and chose to remain at

VSP. However, during the most recent ten academies, only about 70% have completed their initial

training (Appendix C).

Challenge: Sworn employee diversity

VSP’s sworn workforce is currently 20% minority (non-white male), which is substantially below

minority representation in Virginia’s population (Appendix D). VSP recognizes this disparity, and is

committed to achieving greater diversity. Over the past five years, VSP has made modest gains in

this regard, averaging 26% minority representation among newly-hired troopers. Nevertheless, these

figures remain disproportionately low despite VSP’s targeted minority recruitment efforts, which are

described in Appendix D.

One factor affecting VSP’s ability to hire a more diverse workforce is that applicant interest is even

lower among minorities than non-minorities. Minorities apply to VSP at rates disproportionately

lower than their percentage of the population, and those who do apply are more likely to decide not

to become troopers. VSP hiring officials acknowledge that there are many factors contributing to

this disparity, but starting salary for new troopers is believed to play a significant role. VSP’s current

starting salary of $47,833 is much more competitive in the rural areas of the state that are up to 93%

white. In contrast, this salary may be less competitive in the urban and suburban parts of the state

that are more diverse. This challenge impacts VSP in all aspects of its mission: A lack of diversity

within the applicant pool leads to fewer diverse troopers, which, in turn, means a less diverse cadre

of future department leaders to draw from when making promotions. Further, because Virginians

justifiably expect their police to reflect the shared values and diversity of their communities, a less

diverse VSP may tend to erode the trust that VSP depends on from the people it strives to protect.

Challenge: Sworn employee retention

VSP has experienced a 39% increase in turnover of existing sworn employees in the past five years.

This surge is responsible for almost half

of VSP’s vacancies. At 7.7%, VSP’s turnover rate is

substantially below the state average, but it is nonetheless highly problematic for an agency that

spends almost $120,000 and devotes more than six months to an intensive residential basic training

program for each new trooper it hires.

As tenured sworn employees resign, VSP must begin the

recruitment and pre-employment process, with its considerable costs, again. While the VSP training

academy makes every effort to train its new troopers according to the highest standards of

professionalism, the increased turnover inevitably substitutes the mature judgment of seasoned

troopers with the inexperience of new, entry-level troopers—a cycle that increases the risk of

negative outcomes during troopers’ interactions with the public.

VSP believes that much of this recent increase in turnover among experienced employees is due to

pay compression within the sworn ranks and the employee morale problems it causes. While

Forty-three percent of the increase in VSP vacancies over the past five years stem from excess turnover. The remaining

fifty-seven percent is attributable to recruitment challenges.

Sworn turnover at VSP is also unusual for state agencies in that troopers occupy a professional niche that is not widely

available in other state agencies. As a result, whereas the Commonwealth can benefit from turnover when an employee

promotes within another executive branch agency, at VSP those employees typically leave state government entirely.

pg. 7

employee exit survey data is scant and unreliable because of the voluntary nature of that process,

frustrations over compensation, particularly from employees who suffer from severe pay

compression, are among the most commonly discussed complaints heard by VSP leadership. Over

the past several years, VSP leadership has observed that as employees have grown increasingly

frustrated by pay inequities within their ranks, it has become difficult to sustain their commitment to

excellence in “the little things.” These leaders are concerned that as growing frustrations cause

attention to the small details of professionalism to wane, more problematic professional lapses will

occur.

Though it is difficult to quantifiably prove salary compression’s role in employee turnover, there is

substantial quantifiable evidence that salary compression exists. The salaries of two sworn employees

of the same rank and years of service differ by as much as 37%. More than 10% of subordinates

earn more than their supervisors, and 40 of VSP’s highest paid employees are frontline workers who

are as many as six ranks below some lower-paid executives.

Salary compression is most substantial at the higher ranks. A major driver of this compression is that

high performing employees who advance through the ranks quickly necessarily miss some of the

career progression raises that are only available to troopers and special agents after lengthy tenures.

These high performing employees usually advance one full rank at a time, which results in missing a

10% raise for the “intermediate” promotions between the Bureau of Field Operations and the

Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

As a result, it is common for some high-ranking sworn

employees to have missed two 10% pay increases because their high potential caused them to be

promoted quickly. In contrast, the average percentage of pay compression within the trooper ranks

is smaller.

Figure 2, below, shows the average pay compression percentage at each rank when measured by the

workgroup’s proposed step pay scale’s decompression formula, which assigns a value of 1.4% for

every year of service and consistent pay sub-band separations of 10%

at each rank.

For instance, a typical pathway for a “fast track” first sergeant is trooper -> sergeant -> first sergeant; or trooper ->

special agent ->first sergeant. However, troopers may choose to first take the intermediate promotions to special agent

and/or sergeant (trooper ->special agent -> sergeant -> first sergeant) and receive an extra 10%.

With the exception of trooper II, which is a 9% increase over trooper I. This slight difference is a result of the

workgroup’s effort to increase starting trooper salary as high as possible while staying generally within the budgetary

framework. Moving this extra one-percent to starting pay is likely to positively impact recruitment without having a

negative effect on retention.

pg. 8

Figure 2: Average Pay Compression by Rank

Trooper I

1.8%

Trooper II

0.9%

Senior Trooper

0.4%

Master Trooper

0.0%

Special Agent

4.7%

Senior Agent

0.0%

Sergeant

9.6%

First Sergeant

11.5%

Lieutenant

10.7%

Captain

10.6%

Major

18.4%

Lieutenant Colonel

4.0%

Significantly, Figure 2 depicts average pay compression at each rank. Nearly 100 troopers are

compressed by more than 3.6% (more than $2,200 annually). Even small percentage pay inequities

such as this represent a significant blow to morale for employees who are performing the same work

and have the same level of experience as their more highly compensated peers.

As noted above, most pay compression occurs within the supervisory ranks, because some sworn

employees with the greatest degree of supervisory, managerial, and executive potential often get

promoted prior to some career progression opportunities. VSP’s need to retain these employees is

every bit as great—if not greater—than for frontline troopers because:

 turnover within the supervisory ranks eventually cascades down to the trooper ranks because

vacancies are created as employees are promoted into the higher-level positions.

 the experience of employees at supervisory and management levels can be harder to replace,

causing VSP to lose significant institutional knowledge and aptitude for strategic thinking.

For example, since August of 2019, VSP has lost five of its six majors (an executive-level rank at pay

band seven). All five left for other career opportunities and several cited pay as a reason for their

early departures. Their decisions to pursue the rest of their careers elsewhere was a significant loss to

VSP.

As Figure 2 indicates, the newly-promoted majors who replaced them now represent, on average,

the most compressed rank at VSP. This is because their rapid promotions throughout their careers

caused them to bypass some career progression steps that are available to employees who advance

more slowly, often to less senior ranks. Avoiding similar retention problems in the future is a

priority for VSP because rapid attrition in leadership results in increasing scarcity of well-qualified

applicants to fill those positions.

Challenge: Insufficient interest in promotion from diverse and well qualified employees

Taking a promotion into supervisory ranks within VSP can be a much more significant transition

than in a traditional civilian role. Troopers and special agents who become sergeants take on desk-

bound administrative and supervisory roles—very different jobs from what troopers do out in the

field. In many cases the opportunity to earn overtime is diminished and is virtually nonexistent

pg. 9

beyond the rank of lieutenant. Every new promotion comes with major new responsibilities, and

VSP must be able to compensate its sworn employees adequately for these roles.

Currently, VSP’s promotional process consists of interviewing the five candidates ranked highest on

the promotional list based on an aptitude test, leadership evaluation, education, and experience. The

process is designed so that many more than five candidates can apply, but only the top five will

receive an interview. However, in 2020, most open positions failed to receive even the minimum

five candidates on average for promotional consideration. Promotions to lieutenant and sergeant, in

particular, have been particularly unattractive with only two or three applicants on average.

Figure 3: Average Number of Applicants for Promotion, by Rank.

The dearth of applicants for promotion has negative impacts on quality and diversity within the

supervisory and management ranks. This is most consequential at the rank of sergeant, which is held

by the first-line supervisors who are responsible for the day-to-day leadership that enforces VSP’s

high standards and ensures the safe and efficient management of daily operations.

Challenge: Decreasing educational attainment among trooper applicants

Not only have the number of trooper applicants declined in recent years, but the percentage of

applicants with college degrees is less than the current VSP workforce.

This is a troubling trend

because it runs counter to the criminal justice reform movement’s call for greater professionalism in

law enforcement. Research

suggests that college-educated officers save departments money, even

when paid more, and are more professional law enforcement officers because they:

Fifty-three percent of VSP’s current sworn workforce has a college degree; whereas, only 39% of applicants from

calendar years 2017-2019 have degrees. Only 31% of applicants in 2021 have college degrees. 2020 data is unavailable

because a system conversion resulted in this data not being tracked that year.

Christie Gardiner, Ph.D., Policing around the Nation: Education, Philosophy, and Practice, National Police Foundation,

September 2017, https://www.policefoundation.org/publication/policing-around-the-nation-education-philosophy-and-

practice/ (accessed December 13, 2020). Note, in this study “college-educated” referred to a four-year degree. However,

4.6

3.6

6.1

7.0

2.3

4.8

4.0

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

Special Agent

(all specialties)

Sergeant First Sergeant BCI First

Sergeant

Lieutenant Captain Major

Average Number of Applicants per Position

Average # of applicants

pg. 10

 Take fewer sick days, have fewer on-the-job injuries and accidents, and are sued less often.

 Are more innovative, more reliable, more committed to the agency, more likely to take on

leadership roles within the department, and more likely to be promoted.

 Are better writers, which results in better investigations, fewer evidentiary constitutional

challenges, fewer false confessions or wrongful convictions, and/or more successful

prosecutions.

 Have fewer complaints and disciplinary actions against them, use force less often, and when

they do use force they use lower levels of force than officers without a college degree.

IV. VSP compensation objectives

To clearly identify the challenges that VSP needs to address through its compensation planning, it is

setting compensation objectives. This will ensure the actions in the plan are targeted at addressing

the challenges, and allow assessment of progress in addressing the challenges over time.

VSP sets these objectives in full recognition that salary is only one part of compensation, and that,

more broadly, compensation is only one factor for employees when choosing an employer. The

state’s health insurance plan and retirement plan are likely similar enough to other local and state

police departments to not represent a disincentive to work at VSP. Furthermore, other factors such

as work / life balance, career advancement opportunities, and quality of supervision also play a role.

Objective 1 - Effectively recruit and retain a highly qualified and diverse workforce by

offering competitive salaries.

VSP’s current starting salary is below the average starting salaries of both the large, local police

departments in Virginia and the other state police agencies that the workgroup used for

comparison.

Virginia’s largest local police departments have similar police missions, but are

significantly smaller and the scope and scale of their responsibilities is typically more narrow. Nearby

states with state police departments having similarly broad missions as VSP are a more approximate

comparison in mission scope and scale. Some of these states, though, have larger state police

departments and other factors influencing their compensation that preclude attempting to match the

salaries they offer. As such, positioning VSP’s salaries above large local police agencies but below

comparable state police departments in these nearby states accurately reflects appropriate market

positioning for VSP.

Objective 2- Encourage retention of experienced troopers by alleviating pay compression.

As described in Section III of this report, worsening retention rates are responsible for almost half

of VSP’s increasing vacancies. Employee frustrations over pay inequities are contributing to morale

problems that negatively affect VSP leadership’s ability to foster a strong commitment to

VSP’s experience is that these benefits exist to a significant extent for employees with an associates’ degree as well.

Often, an associates’ degree is just the gateway to future educational attainment.

A detailed description of the comparability and distinguishing features of the agencies that the workgroup considered is

set forth in Appendix B of this report.

pg. 11

professionalism within the sworn workforce. VSP believes that alleviating pay compression will have

a positive impact on retention rates, morale, and professional accountability—all factors that are

essential to VSP’s future success.

Objective 3 – Increase interest in promotions by raising first-line supervisory salaries.

Under the present promotional structure, VSP does not get enough interested applicants for some

positions from which to select a diverse group of new supervisors. VSP is committed to pursuing a

compensation structure that increases the number, diversity, and quality of applicants for promotion

at the critical first line supervisor position of sergeant. By focusing on substantially increasing the

incentives for troopers to promote into this critical “entry level” supervisory position, VSP believes

that it can generate more interest in promotions. This is expected to feed a pipeline of diverse and

highly qualified employees seeking promotions to higher ranks in the years to come, providing

necessary stability and diversity within VSP’s leadership.

Objective 4 – Encourage retention by providing VSP sworn employees with consistent

annual pay steps.

The role of a sworn law enforcement officer requires an extraordinary mixture of hard-earned

experience, well-honed training, good judgement, effective communication skills, and tremendous

dedication. These qualities are not gained overnight. In fact, VSP leadership believes that the

cumulative experience that an employee gains continues to inure to the benefit of the department

over the course of a career. As such, VSP’s objective is to compensate tenured employees for this

additional experience on a consistent annual basis with a modest pay step increase of 1.4%.

Objective 5 – Encourage retention over time by clearly and transparently articulating career

path and salaries.

Consistent and transparent step pay scales are features of some competing agencies’ compensation

packages. These published scales provide clarity regarding a sworn employee’s salary at each rank

and tenure. VSP believes that such a scale would contribute to improved recruitment because it will

allow recruiters to emphasize not just starting pay, but the financial stability that VSP can offer

throughout a career. Likewise, a step pay scale will incentivize existing employees to stay with VSP,

and even pursue promotions, because the progressive benefits of longevity and promotion can be

readily understood.

Objective 6 – Increase educational attainment by offering a financial incentives for existing

sworn employees and new recruits who hold an associates or higher degree.

Success for VSP depends recruiting a highly-qualified and diverse workforce with problem solving

skills, good judgment, and communication abilities to provide public safety services with

compassion and understanding and to effectively defuse tense situations before they escalate. A

college education is an effective way to acquire such skills. VSP will be better positioned to recruit

college graduates if it can offer a modest incentive that acknowledges the personal investment they

have made in their education. Existing sworn employees similarly benefit from educational

attainment, and VSP’s goal is to provide the 53% of its current sworn workforce that has a college

degree with this benefit and to encourage others to pursue a degree. This will promote VSP’s

criminal justice reform efforts by exposing its troopers to a wide variety of viewpoints, challenging

pg. 12

their thinking, and promoting effective communication, tolerance, and sensitivity to the needs and

interests of the Commonwealth’s communities.

Each of the six objectives listed above is directed at one or more of the compensation challenges

described in Section III of this report. No subset of these objectives, standing alone, can respond to

VSP’s intertwined recruiting, retention, morale, and diversity challenges. Rather, achieving these

objectives will form a cohesive approach that responds holistically to the problems that VSP is

facing. The workgroup identified the actions in Sections V – XI of this report as the recommended

plan for responding to VSP’s problems in accordance with the outlined objectives.

V. Recommended Action – Starting salary increase

Applying VSP’s new salary objective for troopers results in a target range of $48,767 (Virginia local

average) to $62,516 (other state average). VSP proposes raising starting trooper salaries to $51,500,

an increase of 7.7%. This increase moves starting trooper pay into the salary goal range, whereas

current salaries fall outside the range because VSP starting trooper salary is below the Virginia local

police department average starting salary. The shaded area in Figure 4, below, depicts the target

salary range, with Virginia’s large local agencies representing the bottom edge of the shading and the

region’s comparable other state police agencies representing the top edge.

Figure 4: Trooper I (starting trooper) Salaries

In order to avoid creating new pay compression, this 7.7% increase must be provided to all sworn

employees. This increase, though, will be capped so that each sworn employee receives the lesser of

a 7.7% raise or their appropriate salary based on rank and years of service as set forth in the

workgroup’s recommended step pay scale.

The cost of the workgroup’s recommended plan attributable to this action is $13.3 million.

$10,000

$20,000

$30,000

$40,000

$50,000

$60,000

$70,000

$80,000

Trooper I

VSP Current

+7.7%

VSP Proposed

Benchmark

Note: Benchmark zone determined using Virginia local police

department and surrounding state police department salaries.

pg. 13

VI. Recommended Action – Leverage increased salary for new

recruits to further increase diversity of applicant pool

The recommended and more competitive new starting salary of $51,500, in combination with a

transparent step pay scale that allows prospective applicants to anticipate the financial value of a

trooper career, allows VSP to better compete for a diverse and qualified applicant pool against those

agencies already offering similar salaries. By positioning VSP to better compete for trooper

applicants within the more diverse areas of the state, this salary increase is expected to temper VSP’s

need to hire as many new troopers from less diverse parts of the state.

However, VSP recognizes that the most qualified and diverse applicants for employment are also

strongly motivated by a sense of purpose and belonging in their career choices. With this in mind,

over the past few years, VSP has made important changes to its recruitment initiatives, employment

processes, and marketing campaigns, in order to attract a more diverse applicant pool (Appendix D).

In some cases, these initiatives are too new to fully measure their impact. Yet, after declining

minority interest in applying from 2017 to 2020, the class of troopers that began on June 30, 2021, is

the most diverse since at least 2015.

VSP is committed to leveraging the opportunity provided by a highly competitive starting salary of

$51,500 to redouble its diversity recruitment efforts, attempt to reverse the recent negative trends,

and seek to build upon 2021’s emerging signs of success. The following new programs and initiatives

are in development or under consideration:

 A mobile applicant testing program to bring VSP’s required battery of physical,

psychological, and written testing to candidates in their communities rather than requiring

them to travel to Richmond.

 A program to expose young adults in underrepresented communities to VSP’s training and

organizational values, in an effort to foster more positive communications and serve as a

bridge for those considering a career with VSP.

 Building upon ongoing efforts to promote more proactive community outreach by

establishing a dedicated outreach unit. In addition to enhancing trustful relationships with

underrepresented communities, repurposing positions for this unit results in new

promotional opportunities for sworn minority employees. This endeavor would also create

additional pathways to more diversity in middle- and upper-management positions.

 Promote workforce development partnerships with state and local workforce organizations

to identify qualified individuals from underserved communities within the Richmond region

who lack work experience and marketable job skills, but who possess the ability and desire

to secure stable employment. VSP would hire identified candidates into a temporary wage

position so they could gain marketable job skills while performing meaningful work for VSP

in backlogged areas such as data entry, reception, or customer support. While such a

program does not directly affect hiring into the position of trooper, VSP’s increased

The first year for which data were readily available.

pg. 14

visibility within these communities could reasonably be expected to contribute to positive

sentiments and potential applicant interest.

Significantly, though, most of these programs require dedicated sworn personnel or a significant

time commitment from personnel who are already overworked because of the growing vacancy rate.

As such, VSP cannot effectively implement these new initiatives without a pathway to reducing its

vacancies. The workgroup’s recommended actions in this report are expected to have a positive

impact on recruitment and retention, affording VSP the opportunity it needs to bring these ideas to

fruition and increase diversity within its sworn ranks.

VII. Recommended Action – Address pay compression

Achieving VSP’s salary objective of addressing pay compression to respond to sworn employee

retention and morale problems requires targeted salary adjustments for compressed employees. In

identifying the necessary adjustments, the workgroup took into account compression among

employees within a given rank (horizontal compression) and between supervisors and subordinates

(vertical compression). The workgroup also considered experience as both a potential countervailing

factor (justifying pay differences in favor of more tenured employees) and an aggravating factor

(exacerbating compression when a tenured employee earns less than a less-tenured counterpart).

The workgroup’s proposed step pay scale’s decompression formula, which assigns a value of 1.4%

for every year of sworn service with VSP and consistent pay sub-band separations of 10% at each

rank, forms the basis for more equitably compensating employees according to rank and experience.

Using this scale, employees who are undercompensated based on their rank and years of service will

receive a raise to bring them into parity with their peers. No employee will receive a raise in excess

of what is appropriate for that person’s rank and years of service. Under this approach, two

employees with the same tenure who are separated by one rank will receive salaries 10% apart.

Likewise, two employees of the same rank but different experience levels will be separated by 1.4%

per year of service.

The workgroup evaluated this pay compression solution in tandem with a 7.7% increase to starting

salary to determine whether it had an impact on VSP’s objective of situating sworn employee

compensation between large local police agencies and regional state police agencies. Figures 5-7

below demonstrate that addressing pay compression in this manner is consistent with VSP’s market

salary objective for key frontline, supervisory, and executive positions:

pg. 15

Figure 5: Trooper II Salaries

Figure 6: Master Trooper Salaries

$10,000

$20,000

$30,000

$40,000

$50,000

$60,000

$70,000

$80,000

$90,000

Trooper II

VSP Current

+13.8%

VSP Proposed

Benchmark

Note: Benchmark zone determined using Virginia local police

department and surrounding state police department salaries.

$20,000

$40,000

$60,000

$80,000

$100,000

$120,000

$140,000

$160,000

Master Trooper

VSP Current

+9.9%

VSP Proposed

Benchmark

Note: Benchmark zone determined using Virginia local police

department and surrounding state police department salaries.

pg. 16

Figure 7: Lieutenant Colonel Salaries

Increasing starting trooper salaries by the recommended 7.7% and fully addressing pay compression

within the sworn ranks will result in top pay for a VSP Bureau Director (lieutenant colonel) of

$177,606. This salary is consistent with VSP’s compensation goals, as indicated in Figure 7, above.

Nevertheless, VSP is aware that as a public agency it needs to be mindful of public perception about

executive compensation. In recognition of potential concern about large salary increases for its

executives, VSP will not pay any of the compression and retention bonuses that were appropriated

in 2021 Special Session II to its executives, pending approval of the workgroup’s recommendations

in the FY23 budget. However, if the FY23 budget does not include a comprehensive plan to address

pay compression throughout the sworn ranks, these bonuses of $3,500 - $3,700 per employee will be

paid to VSP executives as described in Section XI of this report on approximately May 1, 2023.

While the total sum returned to the Commonwealth by this action is modest, it is representative of

VSP’s commitment to ensuring that the comprehensive plan outlined in this report is in no way

excessive.

The cost of the workgroup’s recommended plan attributable to these actions is $9.2 million.

VIII. Recommended Action – Incentivize promotions

As described in Section III of this report, VSP cannot attract enough sworn employees to seek

promotion into the supervisory ranks (sergeant and above), which negatively impacts quality and

diversity at all levels of leadership. The workgroup’s proposed step pay scale sets starting sergeant

pay 10% above special agent pay. In this way, trooper IIs promoting to sergeant are guaranteed to

$50,000

$100,000

$150,000

$200,000

$250,000

Lt. Colonel

VSP Current

+16.2%

VSP Proposed

Benchmark

Note: Benchmark zone using Virginia local police department

and surrounding state police department salaries.

pg. 17

receive a pay increase equivalent to the successive 10% raises they would have received if they had

first progressed to senior trooper and then promoted to special agent.

Establishing this higher salary at the critical first-line supervisory rank is expected to significantly

increase the number of applicants for supervisory positions. Over time, this will provide VSP with a

more qualified and diverse group of supervisors from which to select its future leaders.

This recommended action is integrated within the proposed step pay scale and does not have any

additional costs.

IX. Recommended Action – Provide new, modest annual salary

increase

A 2017 JLARC report found that providing employees with even a modest, predictable annual salary

pay increase may help reduce the state’s voluntary turnover rate. Consistent with this finding, the

workgroup is proposing to institute a new modest, annual salary increase of 1.4% for each VSP

sworn employee who receives an annual performance evaluation of at least “contributor” and is not

subject to an active Group II or III written notice.

Due to funding limitations, the 1.4% salary increase will be below what has historically been the

annual increase in the cost of living, and below the average 2.5% increase in the step pay scales used

by some large local police agencies.

However, certainty for the VSP workforce that it will receive

at least some salary increase annually is an important change from prior practice. The workgroup

anticipates that this annual step will usually be provided in addition to any statewide salary increase.

This makes it less likely that VSP will lose ground over time to other police departments who may

be increasing salaries at a more regular or faster rate, but it is also necessary to avoid future pay

compression.

Without step increases for longevity, troopers with two years of experience would earn the exact

same salary as their five- to nine-year counterparts (and likewise with senior troopers between ten

and 22 years). Failing to compensate these more tenured troopers for their experience would create

new pay inequities.

This recommended action does not have any first year costs associated with it. Out-year costs are

estimated to increase by approximately 1.4% per year as indicated in Figure 8 below:

This approach is also essential to eliminating pay compression, because one of the major factors contributing to pay

compression is the current promotional structure’s inability to compensate sworn employees who promote quickly,

bypassing longevity increases and intermediate promotions between Bureaus.

Chesterfield County Police Department, Fairfax County Police Department, Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office,

Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, Henrico County Police Department, Richmond Police Department, and Roanoke

Police Department.

pg. 18

Figure 8: Out-Year Cost Increases:

Year

Out-Year

Increase

FY24

$3,055,168

FY25

$3,097,940

FY26

$3,141,312

FY27

$3,185,290

FY28

$3,229,884

X. Recommended Action – Offer financial incentive to obtain an

associates or higher degree

An educational incentive of 1.4% for an associates degree or higher is equivalent to $721, based on a

starting salary of $51,500. Such an incentive, while modest, would place VSP among the large, local

police agencies that offer some incentives for a degree.

This incentive would allow VSP to

emphasize to college graduates that VSP values an education and is striving for a well-educated

workforce.

Option – Increase the recommended educational incentive to 2.8%.

This option would provide a greater, 2.8% education incentive ($1,442 for new troopers) to new

applicants and existing employees. Its higher value may address VSP’s goals of an educated

workforce better than the recommendation action of 1.4%. This option also remains within market

benchmarks, though still positioned below the 5% offered by the Fairfax County Police

Department.

The cost of the workgroup’s recommended plan attributable to this action is $1.8 million (or $3.6

million if the optional 2.8% incentive is implemented).

XI. Allocation of one-time bonuses

The recommended actions described in Sections V-X of this report are intended to respond to the

problems VSP is facing for the long term. However, the General Assembly also recognized the need

for near term action to bridge the gap until this plan could be fully implemented in FY23. To that

For example, the Richmond Police Department offers a $500 educational incentive; the Chesapeake Police

Department offers $600, and the Virginia Beach Police Department offers 1.5%.

pg. 19

end, the 2021 Special Session II budget appropriated $20M in sworn recruitment, retention, and

compression bonuses. The workgroup recommends that these bonuses be allocated as follows:

One-time $5,000 appreciation bonuses for each VSP sworn law enforcement officer:

These bonuses, which were appropriated by the General Assembly for all sworn employees in

retroactive appreciation of VSP’s efforts during the pandemic, will be paid on November 16, 2021.

The total cost of this one-time action is $10.3 million.

One-time retention bonuses

In an effort to retain the existing workforce until a long-term compensation solution can be

established for FY23, the workgroup recommends providing each sworn employee with a retention

bonus of $3,500 - $3,700, (the final bonus figure will be adjusted to account for personnel actions

that occur between the date of this report and the payment date).

To encourage retention until the

long-term compensation plan is implemented, these bonuses will not be awarded until May 1, 2022.

However, assuming a comprehensive compensation plan that addresses VSP’s recruitment and

retention issues is adopted by the General Assembly prior to this date, this bonus will not be paid to

members of VSP’s executive staff, because the salary increases provided by the workgroup’s

comprehensive pay plan create a sufficient retention incentive for these executives.

The total cost of this one-time action is $7.6 million.

One-time compression bonuses

The General Assembly also directed bonuses to address salary compression and established

parameters for sworn compression bonuses such that these bonuses must be between 2% and 8%

of salary. The workgroup understood that, although VSP’s compression problem is heavily

concentrated in the management positions, the General Assembly’s intent was to apportion these

compression bonuses so that compressed troopers receive significant relief. To that end, the

workgroup recommended appropriating these bonuses so that they decline as a percentage of salary

from frontline to executive staff as follows:

 Trooper (including senior & master troopers): 8%

 Special agent (including senior special agent): 7%

 Sergeant: 6%

 First sergeant: 5%

 Lieutenant: 4%

 Captain: 3%

 Major and lieutenant colonel (subject to the conditions outlined in Section VII) : 2%

This retention bonus will be the same fixed sum for all sworn employees, but the final figure will be determined based

upon the remaining available funding after the other bonuses have been paid.

pg. 20

In addition, since this is an appropriation of Federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, no

sworn employee earning more than 150% of the average annual wage for all occupations, as defined

by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, will receive a compression bonus.

The total cost of this one-time action is $1.2 million

Recruitment bonuses of $5,000

VSP anticipates hiring 140 troopers into the two upcoming basic schools this fiscal year. The

workgroup recommends that this $5,000 bonus be paid to each of these applicants upon successful

completion of basic school and field training. This action will encourage applicants to accept offers

of employment and to strive for success during their training phase. All such bonuses will be paid

out prior to the end of FY23.

The total cost of this one-time action is $753,550.

Moving expense reimbursement

VSP anticipates that approximately 65 total new troopers from the basic school that graduated in

August 2021 and the class that is slated to graduate in January of 2022 will be required to relocate

for their permanent assignments. Assuming each new trooper incurs the maximum $2,000 in

reimbursable expenses, the total one-time cost of reimbursing these employees is $139,935.

XII. Summary Recommendations

Take recommended actions to address VSP’s compensation objectives and

implement the step pay scale described in Appendix E.

The objectives and actions recommended in this report provide a comprehensive response to VSP’s

recruitment and retention problems. The step pay scale set forth in Appendix E provides the means

by which they can be addressed jointly. The workgroup developed the recommended step pay scale

by employing a formula that takes into account rank (pay sub-band) and years of service. In

establishing an appropriate formula, the workgroup considered VSP’s existing promotional structure

and incentives, baseline years of sworn VSP service valuations, and similar pay structures in other

large police agencies in Virginia and in comparable state police departments in the mid-Atlantic

states. Using this scale, no employee will receive a raise in excess of what is appropriate for that

person’s rank and years of service. The FY23 costs of this comprehensive plan (the aggregate cost of

all recommended actions in Sections V-X) is $24.3M.

In conjunction with the implementation of this plan, VSP intends to promulgate policy changes that

will conform future promotional increases to the recommended step pay scale. These measures

cannot be taken effectively without a step pay scale, because attempting to change the compensation

structure without first correcting existing pay inequities would only exacerbate the problem.

The 150% threshold is $90,240 for employees residing outside of Northern Virginia and $115,815 for Northern

Virginia residents. For purposes of calculating whether an employee’s pay exceeds the ARPA threshold, VSP will include

salary and bonuses paid or anticipated during FY22.

pg. 21

However, these policy changes in combination with the recommended step pay scale will essentially

eliminate vertical and horizontal pay compression going forward.

Assess effectiveness of salary increases in addressing recruiting and retention

challenges

Even after VSP has taken the above actions, additional work will still be necessary to ensure

continued, effective deployment of the funds granted. Many employers—not just VSP—are

experiencing recruiting and retention challenges. Other employers—including other police

departments—are also concurrently increasing salaries to address the same challenges. It is likely that

the dynamics of the “market” for law enforcement talent will continue to evolve over the next few

years. The magnitude, duration, and even direction of those dynamics may not continue in a

predictable manner.

The workgroup also understands that salary is not the only factor in employment decisions. There

must be an adequate overall “supply” in the economy of people who want to do police work for the

compensation offered. However, VSP must continue to work to ensure that it provides a positive

employment experience for its employees (e.g. effective supervision, adequate training, work / life

balance).

The workgroup proposes that VSP review its workforce needs in 2024 with the specific aim of

determining whether its salary increases have made a measurable difference. As part of the review,

VSP will:

 Periodically report to DHRM on progress implementing the workgroup actions, given the

longstanding salary compression issues that resulted from prior implementation of VSP

human resources policies;

 Coordinate with DHRM to continue to align its compensation strategy with emerging

executive branch policy on classification, salary compression, and other key aspects of HR

policy;

 Develop and administer a survey to its entire workforce to gauge staff satisfaction and

morale, including to ask about role of salary increases in satisfaction, morale, and retention;

 Re-benchmark its salaries to surrounding states and major local police departments;

 Evaluate the effectiveness of the funding allocated for increased salaries and identify

remaining strategies necessary to recruit and retain a well-qualified and diverse workforce;

 Determine budgetary needs considering funding allocated to still-vacant positions, cost-

avoidance due to planned reduction in spending on training officers who leave shortly after

beginning employment and reduced overtime, and other unforeseen budgetary factors; and

 Present its findings to the House Appropriations Committee, Senate Finance and

Appropriations Committee, and the Department of Planning and Budget to inform future

and/or additional budgetary and policy actions.

Work with DHRM to review the pay band classification of its lieutenant colonels

pg. 22

The workgroup recommends that VSP work with DHRM to review the pay band classification of

VSP's lieutenant colonels. These executives are currently in pay band 7; whereas, some other state

agencies' similar leadership positions are in pay band 8. Pay band 8 is reserved for executives in the

largest, most complex, and most critical agencies of the Commonwealth—a classification that most

likely applies to VSP. Such a reclassification may result in an additional pay increase for VSP's

lieutenant colonels, and it is recommended that DHRM and VSP work together to align any such

action with other large, complex, and critical agency executive pay.

pg. 23

Appendix A – Virginia State Police Salary Workgroup Authorization

2021 General Assembly, Special Session II

5) a) $20,000,000 to the Department of State Police (156) to implement a new compensation plan

for sworn, law enforcement positions that addresses recruitment of new officers, retention of the

existing law enforcement workforce, and pay compression among the various levels of the sworn,

law enforcement positions in the department based upon the findings presented in the study

required by paragraph b) below.

b) The department shall convene a workgroup that shall include staff from the Department of

Human Resource Management and the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission for the

purpose of conducting a comprehensive study to document the current issues that create barriers to

the department's ability to recruit and retain qualified and diverse law enforcement personnel.

The study should address issues of pay compression among the various levels of the existing law

enforcement workforce, competition with other employers for individuals with the same preferred

qualifications and skill sets, and any other circumstances such as the cost of relocation that create

barriers to maintaining a diverse, high quality law enforcement workforce. In addition, the report

shall include a detailed plan for implementing a compensation program that responds to the issues

and problems outlined in the report and the related annual costs to implement the plan beginning in

fiscal year 2023, and the ongoing cost for the next five fiscal years.

This plan shall be submitted to the Governor, the Chair of the House Appropriations Committee,

the Chair of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, the Director of the Department of

Human Resource Management, and the Director of the Department of Planning and Budget, no

later than October 15, 2021, so that the required funding may be included in the 2022-2024 budget

to be adopted by the General Assembly at its 2022 Session.

pg. 24

Appendix B – Comparison of salaries to regional states and major

local police departments

Establishing the market’s comparable employers is a necessary predicate to implementing VSP’s

compensation objectives. As the Commonwealth’s largest law enforcement agency, and the only

agency with a full range of statewide policing and emergency response missions, VSP is distinctive.

VSP is exclusively responsible for many aspects of the Commonwealth’s criminal justice system,

from providing highly specialized resources to operating the statewide criminal justice information

systems that allow for the exchange of identification and record information between the courts and

federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. Similarly, from basic criminal and traffic

enforcement, to training, to medical air evacuation and search and rescue, many localities rely on

VSP to supplement their public safety measures. All of these additional responsibilities are managed

by VSP’s sworn employees, and the breadth and scope of these duties make one-to-one

comparisons to local agencies difficult.

VSP’s statewide responsibilities also place requirements on troopers that are not shared by local

police officers. For example, a local police recruit will receive his or her basic training at an

independent or regional training academy within commuting distance; whereas, the VSP training

academy is a rigorous 27-week residential environment where trainees are only permitted to return

home on weekends. Similarly, upon graduation local police recruits know that they will live and

work in the locality of their choice; whereas, VSP must send new troopers to areas throughout the

state where staffing shortages exist.

Unpredictable demands that can interfere with family life

persist throughout a trooper’s career: Promotions often require moving to other parts of the state,

training regularly requires week-long stays at the training academy in Richmond or the driver training

facility in Blackstone, and special assignments can require troopers to be away from home for

extended stays. These are all sacrifices that are unique to life as a trooper in the service of the whole

Commonwealth.

In many ways, the more apt comparison to VSP is other state police agencies. Forty-nine states have

a state police or highway patrol agency, but their missions vary widely. Some are exclusively highway

patrols, having no responsibility for venturing off the state’s primary highways. Others, while called

highway patrols, have hybrid missions that incorporate some traditional state police functions. Still

others are state police agencies with full patrol enforcement responsibilities and specialized

operational units, but the statewide investigative bureau is contained within a different agency. Less

than half of the states have a state police agency with the full range of patrol, investigative, and

advanced specialty missions comparable to VSP. Even fewer are also responsible for the state’s

criminal justice information infrastructure, as VSP is. Perhaps unsurprisingly, though, all of the mid-

Atlantic states share this broad-scope state police model. This provides the starting point for

The 2021 General Assembly Special Session II budget provided up to $2,000 in moving expense allowances for

troopers who are required to move upon assignment to their first duty post. Since these reimbursements have not yet

been claimed, VSP does not have data on the costs that new troopers actually incur when moving to their first

assignment. However, VSP observed that trainees who have expressed concerns about moving in the past have not cited

the expenses specifically; rather, their focus has been on other family implications, such as spouses being unable or

unwilling to find employment in the new location.

pg. 25

meaningful comparisons, but it does not address whether these similar state police departments in

our region are competing within the same market.

The workgroup examined VSP application data for the previous ten years. Among applicants

applying for trooper positions from outside of Virginia the most common states of residence were,

in this order, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Maryland, and West Virginia.

Of these states, only North Carolina does not have a full-scope state police department. The

workgroup determined that the remaining five states were appropriate for benchmarking against

VSP, since they have very similar organizational structures and missions, and they share a common

market for trooper candidates.

These five state police departments’ salary data was considered along with that of large local police

departments in Virginia to arrive at a broad set of comparable agencies. The resulting data set was

very useful in establishing appropriate benchmarks for starting trooper pay. However, the one-to-

one comparisons to local agencies again became problematic at higher ranks. The workgroup

obtained a representative set of employee responsibility descriptions for the VSP ranks of sergeant

and first sergeant and compared them to positions at one of Virginia’s largest local police agencies.

This line-by-line comparison revealed an almost exact equivalence between a VSP first sergeant and

a local police captain. Similarly, a VSP sergeant was a near equivalent to a local lieutenant. This

comparison resulted in a roughly two-rank deviation between VSP and this large local agency. The

workgroup concluded that, while this deviation was unlikely to persist in every role across all

agencies, it was likely that as local agency size decreases, the divergence in roles would only increase.

When benchmarking supervisory salaries at local agencies, these differences in roles were taken into

account; however, the chart below depicts averages at the same rank rather than equivalent role. If

equivalent roles were depicted, VSP salaries would appear somewhat lower relative to comparable

agencies than what is listed in Figure 9 on the following page.

The workgroup was mindful that agency size also influences salary. These state police agencies range in size from

smaller than VSP to more than twice as large. The local agencies that were compared to VSP range from 24% as large as

VSP to 39% as large as VSP (excluding VCU PD, which is only 4% as large).

pg. 26

Figure 9: Local Benchmark Averages

VSP Titles

VSP Current

Statewide

Average

Salary

Chesterfield

Henrico

Beach

VCU

Local

Market

Average

VSP

Proposed

Average

Starting Pay

$47,833

$45,500

$51,913

$45,656

$52,000

$48,767

$51,500

Trooper I

$47,817

$45,500

$51,913

$45,728

$52,000

$48,785

$53,252

Trooper II

$55,007

$57,264

$60,000

$56,789

$65,193

$59,812

$62,605

Sr Trooper

$70,125

$61,237

$64,650

$73,117

$66,335

$78,944

Master

Trooper

$92,554

$78,552

$77,169

$77,861

$101,671

Special Agent

$74,336

$86,839

Sr. Special

Agent

$109,251

Sergeant

$79,637

$85,212

$88,186

$89,087

$87,159

$87,411

$98,861

First Sergeant

$91,839

$112,528

Lieutenant

$103,650

$103,913

$98,165

$103,711

$101,223

$101,753

$125,944

Captain

$118,414

$125,071

$105,434

$120,512

$119,332

$117,587

$143,002

Major

$117,745

$146,858

$120,206

$133,532

$148,397

Lieutenant

Colonel

$151,964

$181,967

$146,919

$142,419

$139,388

$152,673

$176,632

pg. 27

Figure 10: Regional State Police Benchmark Averages

VSP Titles

VSP

Current

Statewide

Average

VSP

Proposed

Average

Maryland

State

Police

New

Jersey

State

Police

New York

State

Police

PA State

Police

West

Virginia

State

Police

Regional State

Police Trimmed

Average (excludes

high & low)

Starting Pay

$47,833

$51,500

$33,701

$52,125

$46,649

$47,824

$47,237

Trooper I

$47,817

$53,252

Trooper II

$55,007

$62,605

$55,704

$72,582

$73,752

$80,181

$58,093

$68,142

Trooper II

regressed

to starting

pay

$51,105

$66,589

$67,662

$73,561

$53,296

$62,516

Senior

Trooper

$70,125

$78,944

$86,076

Master

Trooper

$92,554

$101,671

$100,621

$126,672

$115,345

$140,923

$81,540

$114,213

Special

Agent

$74,336

$86,839

Sr. Special

Agent

$109,251

Sergeant

$79,637

$98,861

$108,503

First

Sergeant

$91,839

$112,528

$120,199

Lieutenant

$ 103,650

$125,944

$135,817

Captain

$ 118,414

$143,002

$147,373

Major

$ 117,745

$148,397

$166,610

Lieutenant

Colonel

$ 151,964

$176,632

$182,088

$188,934

$202,265

$208,895

$100,966

$191,096

The workgroup was able to obtain average salary data for all ranks at the Maryland State Police and lieutenant colonels

at all departments. Advertised salaries or published maximums were used for trooper II and master trooper comparables

where averages were unavailable. Additionally, because some of the region’s state police departments offer reduced

salaries during training, followed by significant raises (averaging 50%) within a year of graduation, the salary reflected

here is the average cost-of-living adjusted salary that is 9% below the average post-graduation salary. The 9% figure was

used because it is consistent with the 9% raise proposed for trooper II in the workgroup’s recommended step pay scale.

pg. 28

Appendix C – Decline in newly-hired troopers who complete the

training academy

Figure 11: Percentage of New Troopers who Complete the Training Academy

Academy

start date

# hired

# hired who

graduated

# who did not

graduate

% who graduated

Annual

5 year

average

Jan 2021

80%

70%

Jun 2020

62%

Aug 2019

70%

Mar 2019

69%

Jul 2018

113

71%

Oct 2017

80%

70%

Mar 2017

67%

Aug 2016

75%

Feb 2016

67%

Jun 2015

119

62%

May 2014

71%

80%

Dec 2013

70%

Jun 2013

100

80%

Oct 2012

100

90%

Feb 2012

90%

Jun 2011

85%

82%

Oct 2010

76%

Oct 2007

82%

Feb 2007

76%

Aug 2006

70%

pg. 29

Appendix D – Current diversity and ongoing, recent diversity

initiatives

Figure 12 on the next page provides the demographics of VSP’s current workforce. Figure 13

provides the demographics of troopers hired during the last three years. These charts depict an

overall trend towards greater diversity. This improvement, while remaining below VSP’s diversity

goals, may be partially attributable to the following diversity initiatives that VSP has instituted:

 VSP’s new recruiting slogan, “Challenge yourself to make a difference” is intended as a call

to those who feel that the criminal justice system does not live up to public expectations,

inviting them to join and help chart a better future for Virginians.

 All current VSP employees are encouraged to recruit in their communities through the

Trooper Referral and Incentive Program (TRIP), which provides a $500 bonus to employees

who recruit a trooper applicant who successfully graduates the training academy.

 The Recruitment Unit routinely makes presentations and participates in career fairs at

historically Black colleges and universities and military installations, participates in diversity-

focused career events, and hosts similar events itself. This unit also hosts and participates in

community events that provide opportunities to help underserved communities while raising

awareness that VSP is committed to protecting and uplifting at-risk and vulnerable

communities and individuals.

 VSP’s recruiting website has been redesigned to highlight the varied and impactful career

paths that are available to prospective troopers. The website also facilitates better interest

tracking and follow-up by members of the Recruitment Unit. Targeted recruitment efforts

have also been initiated, such as a 30-second slide show that ran in 13 theaters in five states,

and six video recruitment ads are in development for an upcoming social media campaign.

 The Employment Unit routinely reviews its hiring standards to eliminate barriers to

diversity. In recent years, these reviews have resulted in changes such as rescheduling testing

dates and times to accommodate applicants’ busy lifestyles. In addition to these internal

efforts, VSP has hired a third-party contractor to conduct a full diversity, equity, and

inclusion audit so that it can be assured that it is employing best practices.

 The Recruitment Unit has also established practices that are designed to foster connections

between applicants and the VSP family from initial interest through basic school graduation.

Through the Future Trooper Training Program (FTTP), recruiters mentor and coach

trooper applicants throughout the hiring process. They host physical training sessions to

build candidates’ confidence and help ensure their success. They also meet with applicants’

families to build trust and commitment so that the applicants’ families can help and

encourage them in their new career choice. Developing these connections early—and

sustaining them through the basic school and beyond—lets prospective troopers know that

they are valued, fosters a strong sense of belonging, and encourages success.

pg. 30

Figure 12: Demographic Makeup of the Current Sworn Workforce

Minority/Non-Minority Percentages

White Male

80%

Female or Non-white

20%

Race Percentages

American Indian

0.3%

Asian

1.0%

Black

9.5%

Hispanic

2.5%

Two or More Races

0.1%

White

86.6%

Gender Percentages

Female

Male

93%

pg. 31

Figure 13: Recent Sworn Hiring Demographics

Minority/Non-Minority Percentages

White Male

72%

Female or Non-white

28%

Race Percentages

American Indian

0.2%

Asian

2.5%

Black

11.2%

Hispanic

4.7%

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

0.2%

White

81.1%

Gender Overall Total

Female

13%

Male

87%

pg. 32

Appendix E – New VSP compensation plan, by rank

pg. 33

Appendix F – DHRM as a Decentralized Executive Branch Agency

The Virginia Department of Human Resource Management (DHRM) is the central human resource

agency for the Commonwealth of Virginia. DHRM sets broad statewide policies for agencies to

follow regarding job titles, pay bands, and other human resource matters.

DHRM does not, though, directly administer or implement human resources at most state agencies.

The state’s human resource system is decentralized. Agencies are to manage their own employees

within the broad statewide policies set by DHRM. Agencies typically administer their own hiring

processes, decide upon and award promotions and salary increases, and take disciplinary action as

needed within the broad parameters set by DHRM.

Virginia State Police is headed by a superintendent of state police appointed by the Governor. The

superintendent is responsible for implementing Title 52 of the Code of Virginia which creates the

Virginia State Police and grants VSP’s primary authorities and responsibilities.

The superintendent has authority to appoint police officers and supervisory officers. The

superintendent also has authority to set and approve compensation. VSP has its own human

resource staff and executive leadership who make human resource decisions.