It was twilight as Sgt. Adam Cooper strode down Water Street in Yorktown, nodding his head at passers-by and scanning the sandy beach and rocks at the edge of the York River.
As the sun sunk below the horizon, children and adults alike greeted Cooper, with one family asking for a photograph. Later, Cooper patrolled past the brick-faced Yorktown Pub, eyeing the infamous pub cats squatting outside the restaurant.
By day, Cooper works at his desk as a data analyst for the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office. By night, he patrols the waterfront and at football games as an extra-duty officer.
Cooper is one of dozens of law enforcement officers in the Historic Triangle who pull extra-duty shifts, working to keep the Historic Triangle safe in both public and private spaces.
Every year, local businesses, nonprofits and religious groups pay thousands to Williamsburg, James City County and York County to have trained officers at their events and stores.
Here are the top-five businesses and agencies that spent the most money in fiscal year 2018 on extra-duty officers:
York County:
- York County Tourism overtime (waterfront events, beach patrols) — $139,134.26
- York County School Division overtime (dances, sports games) — $83,918.08
- Water Country USA/Busch Gardens (in-park, parking lots, traffic controls) — $54,746.50
- DUI/Click It or Ticket Enforcement (extra duty paid for by state grant) — $24,500
- Insurance Auto Auctions events (overnight lot security) — $9,720
James City County (estimates):
- Busch Gardens Williamsburg — $167,000
- Regal New Town Stadium 12 — $22,000
- New Town (Town Management) — $21,000
- Williamsburg Premium Outlets — $16,000
- LPGA Kingsmill tournament — $15,000
Williamsburg:
- Colonial Williamsburg Foundation — $11,940
- Virginia Arts Festival — $5,040
- College of William & Mary — $2,240
- Sentara Colonial Half Marathon — $2,240
- Mettle Events races — $1,760
While much of the extra duty pay goes into officers’ paychecks, local law departments will typically take a small portion of the extra-duty payment to compensate for the use of patrol cars and equipment.
For some law enforcement officers like Cooper, those extra shifts can be the difference between charging a vacation to a credit card and paying for it outright. Cooper worked more than 90 hours of extra duty in July, he said.
Extra duty is also a chance to build relationships with the community, Cooper said.
York County
In York County, many extra-duty shifts are for county-hosted events or are on county property.
Rates vary for regular extra-duty shifts, and the funds are typically paid out of the sheriff’s office overtime budget, then billed for by the county. A county tourism fund will also reimburse the sheriff’s office for some extra-duty shifts when they are tourism-related, such as shifts patrolling the Yorktown waterfront.
Most extra-duty rates average out to about $36.50 an hour but that can vary, said Capt. Troy Lyons, spokesman for the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office sends extra-duty officers to Water Country USA,Yorktown Market Days, county waterfront concerts and school events such as football games.
York deputies will provide security at churches upon request, and also at Bingo City on George Washington Memorial Highway. Some of those groups will pay the officers directly instead of receiving an invoice through the county.
Deputies may work extra duty at stores during the holidays to deter shoplifters and will also sometimes assist James City County with their coverage of Busch Gardens or the LPGA golf tournament at Kingsmill.
Extra duty can also help solve crimes, Lyons said.
About 10 years ago, when Lyons was a patrol deputy, the sheriff’s office set up a short series of extra-duty shifts to catch people who had been breaking into cars and stealing residents’ possessions.
“We had eight arrests in two or three weeks,” Lyons said. “We recovered $50,000 to $60,000 in stolen property.”
James City County
In James City County, extra-duty shifts are frequently include Busch Gardens, Ford’s Colony or local churches.
Rates for extra-duty officers vary from the high-$30 pay range to $50 for holidays, police spokeswoman Stephanie Williams said.
When officers work extra duty, the business or organization is billed by the county. Besides a small fee — usually a few dollars per hour — taken off the top for the use of county equipment, the officers receive the extra-duty money in their paychecks.
In Ford’s Colony, James City County officers regularly enforce speed limits on the neighborhood’s roadways.
Like York County, the holidays are also busy for officers working extra duty. Williamsburg Premium Outlets requests extra-duty officers to supplement security during the holidays to help curb shoplifting.
“We do this over the course of the year for a lot of reasons and in a lot of different places,” James City County Deputy Chief Steve Rubino said.
Williamsburg
In Williamsburg, there are two types of extra-duty assignments.
The first type of extra-duty shifts are overtime or compensatory time assignments, where an officer works an additional shift at their regular or overtime rate, building “comp” time, which officers can later use instead of leave, Williamsburg Police spokesman Maj. Greg Riley said.
The second type of extra duty involves a special pay rate of $40 per hour and doesn’t count toward comp time. Whether an extra-duty shift is worked for comp time or is paid at the special rate depends on the event, Riley said.
After the event, the police department will send an invoice to the business or agency to collect payment for their officers’ time.
For the past two years, Bruce Hornsby’s Funhouse Fest was an extra-duty event paid at the specialized rate of $40 per hour.
In contrast, extra duty for Williamsburg’s Christmas Parade has traditionally been paid at the officer’s regular overtime rate and counts toward comp time, Riley said.“We try to work with people for other events,” Riley said.
The holidays are especially busy for Williamsburg officers due to the number of special events. In December 2017, Williamsburg officers logged 344 hours of extra duty time for seven events. In March 2018, officers worked 30 hours for only one event, Riley said.
Bike races, marathons, conferences and summer concerts also use extra duty officers, Riley said. Most of the time, extra duty shifts are volunteer.
“As many special events as there are … there’s always somebody working extra duty,” Riley said.
