Crime & Safety

Fairfax County Police Ready to Graduate 38 New Officers This Month

County police offers two police academies a year to keep numbers up.

Armed bandits made away with hundreds of dollars in cash and merchandise from several businesses and Fairfax County police officers were called in to investigate.

No one was injured in either robbery: that’s because the robberies never happened.

The scene is familiar to those who frequent the Fairfax County police academy’s simulation city “Practical Plaza.” Every cadet, including the 38 (12 women and 26 men) who will graduate March 25, has gone through the simulated city setting.

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“It’s limitless what we can do here,” said Lt. Brian Hall, basic training supervisor at the academy. “We have several volunteers come in and serve as victimized store owners and witnesses so each cadet gets familiar with investigating these kinds of situations.”

More than 120 people a month apply to join the ranks of the county’s police department, said spokeswoman Lucy Caldwell. Each applicant goes through a written exam, polygraph, background check, psychological evaluation and a physical abilities test before being selected for the academy. In 2010, the department designated $10,000 for recruitment events at local high schools, colleges and community centers, she said. Public service announcements in different languages were also used to recruit potential police officers. Caldwell said the department is ready to begin another six-month training class in May and that there are 1,400 sworn police officers in the department.

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Aside from physical training and morning formations that begin at 6:45 a.m., Hall said the cadets go through simulated crime investigations, evidence collection and of course hand-to-hand combat drills. The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services governs all academy training, Hall said.

“We’re teaching them the absolute basics to do their job on the streets,” Hall said. “At this point, we’re just giving them more on what they already know already.”

Cadet Sheila McCarthy believes everything drilled into her the last six months is good, in-depth information. McCarthy, 23, of Fairfax, moved to northern Virginia in August of 2009 from West Chester, Pa. to join the county’s police department. The daughter of a Pennsylvania police chief, McCarthy said she has wanted to be a police officer since she was 7-years-old. In a couple short weeks, she will.

“I’m going to have to take everything I learned and apply it when I go out onto the streets,” McCarthy said. “I hope eventually I can get into detective work.”


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