How to Become a Police Officer in Virginia

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To apply for the position of Virginia State Trooper, you must meet the following criteria:

Must be a least 21 years of age on date of hire.
Must be a high school graduate or have a GED (College and/or related experience PREFERRED).
Must be a United States citizen.
Must be of good character and reputation as established by a background investigation to include but not limited to: a polygraph examination, educational achievements, prior work experience, character and reputation, credit history and police record.
Must be in possession of a valid driver’s license and a good driving record.
Must be willing to relocate anywhere in the state based on Department needs (no restrictions on assignment to former home county or city).
Must be willing to travel to Virginia at own expense to complete testing and screening process.
Must be able to meet the minimum vision requirement of 20/100 binocular uncorrected vision, correctable to 20/20. Must be able to meet minimum requirements for color vision test.
Must be capable of hearing normal frequencies of 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 6000,and 8,000 hertz at a pure tone level of 30 decibels or less when checked by the Audiometer Test.
Weight must be in proportion to height.
Must be willing to work rotating shifts and weekends.

Self Assessment Guide
The Virginia State Police is more than just a job, it is a career. The life of a Virginia State Trooper requires dedication, sacrifice, and commitment. Our continued success will depend on maintaining and hiring an educated, diverse, dedicated workforce. We are an equal opportunity employer and we are particularly interested in hiring qualified women and minority applicants.

Law enforcement is not an easy career choice. It takes a special person to become a Virginia State Trooper – someone who, at any given moment, may be called upon to arrest the most atrocious criminal, console and calm a crying child, investigate complex criminal activities, issue summonses to irate motorists, encourage kids not to use drugs, and carry out a myriad of other duties and responsibilities.

If selected, are you prepared to:

Live at the academy for 29 weeks and have limited contact with family and friends?
Operate within a strict, disciplined, paramilitary system?
Participate in a rigorous physical and mental training program which includes college academic courses requiring hundreds of classroom and study hours and numerous written exams?
Obey orders without question, even though you may not understand or agree with the purpose?
Are you willing to:

Work in any area of the state? Work outside in inclement weather conditions?
Work weekends, holidays, and shift work?
Confront and arrest persons who may be larger and stronger than you who are armed with a deadly weapon?
Be the target of abusive and profane language from citizens yet respond in a professional manner?
Take the life of a person in self-defense or defense of another person?
Investigate violent or brutal crimes and effectively interact with the victim?
Investigate fatal traffic accidents…provide medical attention to persons who have been severely injured…deal with hysterical witnesses…deliver death notices to a next of kin…attend autopsies?
Complete large numbers of reports, forms and other types of paperwork?
Place yourself at risk to assist others and perform dangerous tasks in unsafe environments?

Phase I: Video-based examination and reading comprehension test. Physical ability test. The physical ability test for trooper is comprised of four events:

• *a minimum of 22 sit-ups must be completed in one minute *a minimum of 18 push-ups must be completed in one minute
• *a 1.5 mile run must be completed in 16 minutes or less
• *applicant must sit and reach 14 1/2 inches (flexibility exercise) Appearance before an oral interview panel. Study guides are sent out prior to the testing dates. All applicants are given the same amount of time to study the guide.

Testing is conducted at the Administrative Headquarters in Richmond, Virginia. The written test and physical ability tests are given on the same day. The written test is given in the morning, and the physical ability test is administered after a lunch break.

If an applicant passes the physical ability test s/he will be given a date to return to Headquarters to appear before the Oral Interview Panel. The Oral Interview Panels are usually scheduled within two weeks of the written and physical agility tests, but could be scheduled up to one month later.

Oral interviews are conducted in Richmond, Virginia at the Training Academy and are scheduled only during weekdays. The oral interview panel consists of 1 Sergeant and 2 Troopers. After oral interviews are conducted, the written test and oral interview results are graded and a complex algorithm is applied to arrive at a score for each applicant. Applicants who pass the cut-off score are sent on to the next phase.

Phase II: Reid Public Safety Report. Polygraph examination. All applicants who pass the written test, physical agility test and the oral interview are administered the Reid Public Safety Report at the Training Academy in Richmond, Virginia. At that time, applicants are assigned times to take the polygraph examination.

Phase III Background Investigation. An extensive background investigation is conducted on all applicants who proceed to Phase III of the trooper hiring process. A background investigator will solicit information about the applicant by contacting personal references, employers, neighbors, friends, schools, law enforcement agencies, etc.

Phase IV MMPI-2 Psychological Test. Comprehensive physical examination including drug screening. Applicants successfully completing the background investigation may be invited for a complete physical examination by our agency physician and a psychological evaluation. Applicants passing this phase MAY be offered employment. Applicants not passing all tests in this phase will not be eligible for employment.

Police Training Academy

The Virginia State Police Academy is located at the State Police Headquarters complex at 7700 Midlothian Turnpike, Richmond, Virginia.

The 37-week training involves over 1,325 hours of instruction covering over 119 courses. The first 12 weeks at the academy, followed by four weeks of field training. Students then return to the academy for 17 weeks. Following academy graduation, troopers have an additional four weeks of field training.

Training materials are furnished, as well as meals and lodging, at no cost to academy students. Trooper trainees are on full salary from the time they are hired. Subjects studied range from laws of arrest, search and seizure, defensive tactics and arrest techniques, motor vehicle and criminal law, to name a few.

Upon graduation, troopers are assigned to a field officer for the final four or more weeks of field training. Troopers will remain in this first assignment for 24 months

Speciality Unit
After two years a Trooper may apply for one of the state police specialty units.

K-9 Handler

Scuba

Executive Protection Unit

Motorcycle Unit

Aviation Unit

D. A. R. E. Unit

Recruitment

Hazardous Material Unit

Tactical/SWAT Team

Motor Carrier Safety Unit