VA fixes police force, boosting safety for Veterans, families, staff

WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs today announced a series of reforms to the VA police force that will improve police recruitment and retention while increasing safety and security for Veterans, families, caregivers and survivors, and VA employees.

VA police officers respond to emergencies, prevent crime, conduct investigations and carry out Veteran-focused safety initiatives for the largest integrated healthcare system in the country. When the Trump Administration took office in 2025, it inherited a fractured VA police force that was plagued with problems that had been highlighted for years by VA’s Office of Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office.

Major issues included:

• The more than 5,000 employees in VA’s police force were managed by individual VA medical facilities and reported to medical center personnel instead of law-enforcement leaders. This led to inconsistent policing standards across VA facilities and a lack of discipline and accountability. In some facilities, VA police were being used for non-police missions, including serving as valets to park cars.
• The lack of a centralized police structure made it difficult to hire, retain and promote seasoned officers. As a result, VA lost many senior officers to other law enforcement agencies.
• To make matters worse, VA police positions were not properly classified in accordance with federal standards. The Biden Administration’s scattershot approach to addressing this problem threatened to lower the grades and pay of many VA police officers. The threat of lower grades and less pay created an even deeper crisis for the force, as it became far less competitive compared to other law enforcement agencies.

VA has taken several steps during the second Trump Administration to fix these issues and stabilize its police force:

• VA created a unified law-enforcement chain of command by placing the entire VA police force under a dedicated assistant secretary within the new Office of Operations, Security, and Preparedness. Now, VA police officers are no longer managed by medical facility staff and are led by law enforcement leaders who can consistently enforce standards and discipline, provide standardized training, and ensure nationwide staffing requirements are managed and fulfilled. This reorganization is underway and will be completed by the end of fiscal year 2026.
• This new centralized structure will make it easier to hire, retain and promote officers, as it creates a system that supports career advancement. VA has already seen signs this new structure is attracting more candidates – a recent job-posting for VA police officers garnered 3,800 applicants across the country.
• VA is conducting a complete review of VA Police job responsibilities and requirements and classifying VA police officers at higher pay grades based on the complex work they do.
• VA raised the entry-level grade for police officers to GS-6 and created positions from GS-6 through the senior executive service level, creating more career stability and making VA a more attractive place to work for law-enforcement professionals.

“Keeping the millions of Veterans, families, caregivers and employees who visit VA facilities safe is our most important responsibility,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins. “These reforms will help us accomplish that mission by creating a stable VA police force with clear lines of authority, accountability and career progression. The result will be better police recruitment and retention as well as improved safety and security for Veterans, staff and visitors.”

For more information about a career with the VA Police Force, visit vacareers.va.gov.

365 Police Departments

December 7, 2007, 2007 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists over 800 state and local police officers who have written books. With the addition of Robert Ernst, Bryan Heger and Paul Anthony, the website now lists state and local police officers from 365 agencies.

Robert R. Ernst, a former deputy sheriff with the Saginaw County Sheriff’s Office (Michigan). He is the author of Deadly Affrays. According to the book description, “The United States Marshals became the first federal law enforcement organization when President George Washington signed into law the Judiciary Act on September 24, 1789. The U.S. Marshals have lost more personnel to violence than any other federal law enforcement agency. Robert Forsyth, one of the original thirteen appointees, was the first Marshal killed in the line of duty when he was shot to death while attempting to serve civil papers on a Baptist minister in Georgia. Since Forsyth’s death, at least 287 additional officers have met violent deaths in almost every imaginable way. These are the stories of those men who were serving their country enforcing the law-- until they became involved in Deadly Affrays.”

Bryan Heger was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He was raised on a small, family owned farm south of Baltimore City called Hanover. After graduating from Arundel Senior High School, he went to work for the Anne Arundel County Police Department where, after twenty-six years, the last thirteen as a sergeant, he received a medical retirement. He and his boys now live in Pasadena, Maryland. Both of the boys attend local schools, and the author works as a full-time dad. He is the author of Me and the Boys: A Man's Guide to Single Parenthood.

According to the description of Me and the Boys: A Man's Guide to Single Parenthood, “Imagine yourself a twenty-six veteran police officer with a file full of commendations. Fully half your career was as a sergeant responsible for a number of young officers under your command. You put in your time on the street. You paid your dues. You’re still young and good at your job, a nice home, two great young boys and a wife...and then”

Paul L. Anthony, EMS (Equity Marketing Specialist) is a well established entrepreneur in Pueblo, Colorado. He is the owner/operator of Anthony Enterprises. With the mettle to be a U.S. Marine, Paul Anthony learned the doctrines of Semper Fidelis; do or die; don't ever give up; etc. As he traveled in Far Eastern countries in the Marine Corps, Paul Anthony studied their philosophies and acquired master level skills in Judo, Karate, and Aikido; which he subsequently taught for 14 years.

Upon returning to Southern California, Paul Anthony became a police officer with the Anaheim Police Department and in 1964 was selected the Officer of the Year of the Anaheim Police Department. During his law enforcement career, Paul Anthony has served as Police Science Director at Mira Costa College for 9 years and as a training consultant for the International Association of Chiefs of Police for 5 years. As a law enforcement trainer, Paul Anthony trained over 2,000 Vietnam War Veterans who are now highly qualified police officers across the country.

Along the way, Paul Anthony attended four community colleges and seven universities in four states. He has earned teaching credentials in martial arts, criminology, vocational education, and real estate. Paul Anthony has Community College Administrator credential from the state of California. Anthony is the author of Secret of Success.

According to the editor of Secret of Success, TJ Ramos, “Enjoy entertaining insights that encourage the reader toward success by thinking differently from what's expected. Not just another 'motivational' blurb, not another 'how to get rich quick' guide... this lively trip into basic human nature shows how to understand what people mean, despite what they say!”

Police-Writers.com now hosts 808 police officers (representing 365 police departments) and their 1719 law enforcement books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.