I work for the County in Public Safety and I can't wait to leave County employment. Have resumes in 4 counties and a couple cities in NoVa. I'm not uniformed. Work in admin. What's the problem with Arlington's Public Safety employees? We're under-compensated and over-worked. Hiring hasn't kept pace with population growth for two decades. Police Department and Fire Department are way under-strength for the work load and population growth.
Yeah, lots of Arlington cops are a$$holes. They're really stressed, like the firefighters and paramedics. Too many calls for service. Too many complaints. Too much overtime required because the County really doesn't want to hire any more uniformed employees. Pols and the people they appoint keep telling us to "suck it up". That sucks.
It's always the same old problems, only more every year. Altercations at convenience stores, shoplifting in the malls, thousands of complaints against african americans, latinos, and homeless persons, parking lot fender-benders, domestic disputes, and suspicious person complaints by anyone about anyone else. The Fire Department is stressed by an increase in medical emergencies caused by an aging population.
If you're wondering why there's no community policing in the County, that's why. Everything in Public Safety is reactive, except for the employees who plan for events that will never occur.
So I'm looking forward to working in a less stressful environment in the near future.
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