JAMES CITY COUNTY— Protect and Serve is a series highlighting local police officers during National Police Week. Today, meet James City County Police Detective Gennie Bellas.
Bellas got her start in public service as a 911 dispatcher in Newport News.
“During that time, my training officer had gone out for planned vacations so I got to do some ride-alongs. One of the females I road with, we were talking and I mentioned how I hated being on the other end and not knowing what happens on a call, and I decided that I was going to change careers,” Bellas recalls.
As a detective with the James City County Police Department, Bellas is also heavily involved in victim advocacy.
“For every victim advocate, there is a story behind it. Most of the time, when you see a victim advocate, it’s because of something that has happened in their life that they’ve seen a wrong that they want to make right. For me, when I was 6 years old, my 8-year-old sister was hit by a vehicle and my 10-year-old sister was there when it happened. That caused a lot of trauma in my family and we all dealt with it differently. Being a product of a divorced family, I decided that I wanted to do more. I always felt like I could do more to help other people,” Bellas says.
In 2025, Bellas was named a 2025 Unsung Hero by the Virginia Office of the Attorney General. She was nominated for the award by JCCPD Lt. Keith Campbell for her years of uncompromising pursuit of justice for victims, her collaborative work with prosecutors and social services, and her leader in establishing JCCPD’s Special Victims Section in the Criminal Investigations Unit.
“What you are doing changes lives. If it’s just writing a speeding ticket to somebody, that could be that speeding ticket for them that makes them drive more carefully or it could be the thing that sets them over the edge. You really have to have compassion and be empathetic with people. There’s always three sides to every story, his side, her side, and what you can see in the middle. My job is not to say whether you are guilty or innocent, it’s just to bring the facts to the judge and let them decide,” Bellas shared.
In addition to being a 2025 Unsung Hero, Bellas was also named the department’s Officer of the Year, has multiple Investigative Service Awards, the Meritorious Service Award, and the Advocate of the Year Award presented by the Williamsburg/James City County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
One of the projects that Bellas oversees is the department’s participation in the Pinwheels for Prevention campaign. Each April, during Child Abuse Prevention Month, Bellas places dozens of pinwheels outside the department headquarters in an effort to bring awareness to child abuse and neglect.
“All children deserve a happy childhood, that’s the simplest way to put it,” Bellas said.
After a career spanning over 25 years, Bellas hopes to soon retire from the department but notes she’s learned to be a better person by being in law enforcement.
“Being in law enforcement has made me smarter in knowing more about the laws and why things are the way that they are. It’s not saying that you have to be a stickler and you have to be on everyone’s case, but this has broadened my horizons and truly made me see things in a different light. This career is all about working with a team effort. From the fire department, working with child protective services, even funeral homes, it’s all a team effort.”