DATE: Sunday, March 30, 1997                TAG: 9703300061

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JUNE ARNEY, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:  127 lines

JUSTICE PREVAILS AS CHIEF

In 1966, when Richard A. Justice left his welding job with the Norfolk Naval Shipyard to become a police officer, his family was not impressed.

``I took quite a cut in pay,'' Justice said. ``My family thought I was crazy.''

In the 30 years that followed, Justice more than proved a knack for police work. This month, he was named Chesapeake's new police chief.

``It's all been exciting to me,'' he said. ``I've never been bored with police work.''

Recently, on Justice's first day as chief, the city's troops - uniformed and plainclothes, secretaries, bike patrols and canine units - lined the sidewalk behind the headquarters building on Albemarle Drive and applauded Justice as he arrived at 8 a.m.

The chief, who rose through the ranks, seems to have the admiration of the men and women who work for him. And he genuinely seems to care in return.

Mention an officer who recently delivered a baby while on patrol and Justice knows all about it.

``He is the consummate career police officer,'' said Chesapeake Undersheriff Col. Claude A. Stafford Jr. ``He knows what it is to be on the street. When he expects certain things from his men, he's been there.''

Justice, now 55, became interim chief after Chief Ian Shipley died in October, apparently after suffering a heart attack while jogging.

In an interview last week in his office - still bright with flower bouquets and congratulatory balloons - Justice shared his hopes and plans for the department.

``I'd like to leave some kind of mark on the department and see that the department is on the right course to be a progressive department and to continue to serve the needs of the citizens of Chesapeake,'' he said.

Among his plans: further decentralization, increased community policing and upgraded technology. One ongoing battle will be keeping with the city's continued growth.

When Justice arrived at the department Chesapeake was predominantly rural. You could travel for miles through farmland without ever seeing another car, he said.

``But you might have to watch out for livestock,'' he said. ``We used to joke about having lassoes issued to us.''

These days, as more houses are built and more people move in, police response times are starting to creep up, he said.

In 1994, response time to citizen calls averaged seven minutes, four seconds. That improved to seven minutes in 1995, then rose again to seven minutes, 9 seconds in 1996.

Justice said reducing response time is a constant goal.

``I'd like to see it down to 6 1/2 minutes for all the calls,'' he said. ``We may get that back again, but it's going to require additional resources.''

The last time the response time was as low as 6 1/2 minutes was in the late 1980s, Justice said.

Both community policing and creating full-service precincts in the community will help response times, Justice said. The city is divided into five precincts.

``Chesapeake being sprawled out like it is, you can't continue to provide services out of the headquarters. You've got to bring the resources down to the community,'' Justice said.

Already, there is the Second Precinct in South Norfolk, and work has begun on a full-service Fourth Precinct in Western Branch.

In the meantime, a police office is expected to open in about three months inside Chesapeake Square Mall, in the space that used to house a Dollar Store. Sandwiched between retail stores, the storefront cop shop would offer a modern police presence behind an old-time windowfront designed to look like something out of the 1920s.

By 2001, Justice hopes all the precincts will be ready, including one each in Deep Creek, designated as the Third Precinct, and Greenbrier as the Fifth Precinct and one in Hickory. The headquarters area is designated as the First Precinct.

Justice knows changes are needed. He declined to discuss his wish list to the City Council, but said he hopes this year's budget will include additional personnel. The new chief has been handling the budget for the past six years.

The Chesapeake police force now has 308 full-time sworn officers, 79 full-time civilian employees and more than 50 auxiliary officers. The FBI says Chesapeake is the third-safest city of its population in the country, and the safest city of its size in Virginia.

Justice also is optimistic that the City Council will allocate money to upgrade the police communication system. Currently, neighboring cities can talk to each other but not with Chesapeake because the computer systems are incompatible. The system would cost about $17 million and would take about 18 months to complete, he said.

Asked if there have been any surprises in the job so far, Justice said one fact did come to him quickly: ``You always look around and say, `Boss, we've got a problem.' I don't have that luxury. I realized that right away.''

Justice said the department is his biggest hobby, but he also plays golf and acoustic guitar. He used to play electric guitar in a band that played progressive rock tunes.

The chief credits his wife, Diane, for his success.

``My wife has always been my No. 1 fan and my No. 1 supporter,'' Justice said. ``She's put up with a lot with this job. It's a very demanding job, especially if you get wrapped up in it the way I got wrapped up in it.''

Chesapeake Police Capt. Lloyd M. Goodbred knows Justice from the early days in 1969, when Justice was a sergeant and Goodbred was a detective in a four-man vice squad.

Most of that squad's energy went to stopping the flow of corn whiskey from North Carolina, closing nip joints and quashing illegal gambling. Even then, one thing about Justice stood out: ``It always amazed me how he could be so calm,'' Goodbred said. ``Things would be going crazy and he'd still be calm.''

Justice has another distinction: he is a master marksman. ``If he's not the best, he's one of the best pistol shots on our department,'' Goodbred said. ``He doesn't even practice. He just has that natural ability. He doesn't brag about it or anything, but he's just darned good.''

Stafford also remembers Justice from the early 1970s, when he rode with him during off-duty hours from the sheriff's department. Jumping into a cruiser with Justice, who was then a narcotics sergeant, seemed to guarantee a murder or another form of disaster, Stafford said. ``Excitement seemed to follow the chief,'' he said.

Quiet, unassuming and patient are words used to describe Justice. He has a remarkable ability to assess and defuse tense situations, some say.

``Respect is something that you have to earn,'' Stafford said, ``and I think the chief has earned the respect of the rank and file and the individuals he meets.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

MOTOYA NAKAMURA

Richard A. Justice was named Chesapeake's new police chief.

Graphic

Some of Chief Justice's plans for the police department:

Further decentralization

Increased community policing

Upgrading technology KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE POLICE DEPARTMENT

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