PVCC Career Services Police Panel
Deadra Miller, online editor
On Sept. 27, 2018, PVCC hosted a panel of law enforcement officials. The panel included Charlottesville Police Chief Dr. RaShall Brackney, Senior Trooper Recruiter of Virginia State Police Brad Crews, Assistant Vice President and Chief of Police for UVA Tommye Sutton, and Lieutenant Mike Wagner of the Albemarle County Police Department.
Career Services Manager Andre Luck asked the panel about the attraction to the law enforcement field, how they got their positions, if their department has a Forensic Science unit, and what is community policing. Brackney related to the audience on a personal level and was comfortable answering the tougher questions.
All of the panelists came from a small police department or community college. They encouraged the audience to pursue a career in law enforcement, whether it be an accounting job, science job, intelligence job, or supply job within a department. They said all positions are important to the department.
Alexandra Keniston, a PVCC student, asked, “Why is community engagement so important to you?”
Wagner explained, “There is no community insight as to what is going on without engaging with the community.”
Sutton added, “When there is no cycle of trust, we can’t operate, meaning if we can’t get the community to trust us then we can’t operate correctly as a department.”
Crews said, “VSP is creating a youth involvement program that will be and continue to make a difference to help engage into the communities better,”
Brackney stated, “Police legitimacy is broken right now because no one can police one another without community engagement.”
Crews announced an opportunity for students to apply for the Fusion Center in Richmond. The application is for an intelligence position including analysis, special agents, and gathering information worthy for troopers working on the streets we live on.
For more information contact career services at PVCC by emailing them at career@pvcc.edu and ask for information about the \ department you are interested in. Both Luck and Davis are happy to guide student in the right direction.
