ACPD October Newsletter

Albemarle County Police Department News

October 2022

A Message from Colonel Sean Reeves

Greetings,

October 28, 2022, was recognized as National First Responders Day. On this day, we recognize the sacrifices and contributions made by those who choose to put their lives on the line to safeguard our community. This month’s newsletter will discuss the heart and soul of the Albemarle County Police Department- our Patrol Division. The men and women who serve in our Patrol Division come from diverse backgrounds and bring various life experiences that they apply to their daily roles as police officers.

Many of our patrol officers also voluntarily serve on specialty teams when they are not performing their normal patrol duties. Some of the higher profile teams that the community may be aware of include the SWAT Team, Crisis Negotiations Team, Crisis Assessment Team, Forensics Team, Underwater Recovery Team, Bike Team, and Honor Guard. We also have teams in our department that the community typically will not interact with, but play an essential role in our officers' training, development, and support. These teams include our Field Training Officers, Defensive Tactics Team, Firearms Team, Mentor Team, Logistical Support Team, Wellness Team, and Peer Support Team.

As ACPD’s Chief of Police, I am honored to serve alongside such a talented group of men and women who choose to protect and serve our wonderful community.

ACPD's Patrol Division

The mission of the Albemarle County Police Department is to provide for the safety and security of all people while protecting individual rights and building trust in our diverse communities through quality service. Our Patrol Division is responsible for providing traditional policing services while establishing partnerships that meet the needs of a changing community. One way we provide this service is Geo-Policing. Geo-policing is a community-based policing model that ACPD implemented in 2012. It divides the county into two districts to which officers are assigned. This positions officers to get to know the people in their community, by covering the same areas and encouraging them to have positive interactions with the individuals of Albemarle. Geo-Policing also provides officers with a greater sense of local concerns, builds stronger ties within the community, and encourages officers to take ownership of the community's concerns within their assigned area. More than 70 percent of the department’s sworn staff are assigned to the patrol division.

The Districts

The Jefferson District

The Jefferson District is 211 square miles within the northern and eastern portions of Albemarle County. Earlysville, Free Union, Shadwell, Rio Hill, and Fourseasons are only a few communities that make up this rural and urban area.

The Blue Ridge District

The 515 square miles that make up the Blue Ridge District in the western and southern portions of Albemarle County are home to many diverse communities, scenic highways, and beautiful mountain vistas. The communities of Afton, Whitehall, Crozet, Ivy, Batesville, Southwood, Monticello, Keene, Woodridge, Scottsville, and Howardsville call this district home.

The most likely encounter someone will have with an ACPD police officer is with a member of the patrol division. These officers patrol the 726 square miles of Albemarle County every single day. They do this in inclement weather, during COVID, on holidays, providing coverage twenty-four hours a day, three hundred sixty-five days a year! Sometimes these officers are so busy going from call to call, that they do not have time to eat or take a break to use the restroom. They never know what they will encounter as they work their shifts each day. The Albemarle County Police Foundation recognizes the challenges and sacrifices made by our officers. One small way we support these heroes throughout the year, particularly during the holidays, is by providing meals to enhance their morale and wellness. In partnership with local businesses, the Foundation will be providing holiday meals to officers working during this holiday season. In addition, the Foundation will be hosting a family holiday celebration for all officers to gather as an ACPD family and to acknowledge the impact police work has on the officers and their families.

If you would like to help support officer wellness and morale, please contact Kate Kaminski, kate@acpd.foundation.

Connect with the Foundation

The Albemarle County Police Foundation is committed to doing as much as it can for the health and wellness of ACPD officers. They serve and protect us, and they deserve the community’s support to ensure they go home safe and healthy each day. They have our backs and we have theirs.

Would you like to learn more about how the Foundation supports ACPD, keep abreast of upcoming events, or meet the people behind the badge? Enhance public safety with knowledge…sign up for our monthly email newsletter today.

Specialty Teams Inside of the Patrol Division

Honor Guard Team

The mission of the Honor Guard Team is to represent ACPD at public functions and events throughout the state. The unit is routinely called upon to perform at all types of events, from parades to the funerals of fallen officers and their families.

Field Training Teams

ACPD recognizes the importance of having a comprehensive and fully effective Field Training Team (FTT) and its responsibilities to orient, integrate, and field train newly hired, reassigned, or recently promoted sworn officers. Such training, monitoring, and feedback are critical to an officer’s development, the quality of their performance, and their contribution toward upholding the mission of both ACPD and the County.

Crisis Assessment Team

The Crisis Assessment Team will intervene with mental health customers or anyone having a mental health crisis event. Team members offer community resources and mediate a plan of assistance involving Region Ten or other health-related providers as needed.

Wellness Team

ACPD’s Wellness Program is a voluntary program to help promote the overall health of sworn and non-sworn employees through physical fitness, mental wellness, and fitness/nutritional education. Our Wellness Team members assist participants in maintaining and/or improving their overall health.

ACPD Officer Honored by MADD

Patrol Officer Jacob Chisom was honored on October 26, 2022, at a statewide ceremony, by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)-Virginia. Officer Chisom has been instrumental over the last year in making the roads of Albemarle county safer. He began his career with ACPD on September 9, 2021, and as of August 1, 2022, he has had 35 driving under the influence (DUI) arrests.