ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. – After 36 years in law enforcement, Roanoke County Police Chief Howard Hall is turning in his badge.
Hall announced that is retiring on January 1 after a little over a decade as chief back in September.
“Good time for me to move on and let some of the excellent leadership we have in the department step up into some new roles to carry forward,” he said.
Hall started his career in law enforcement in Baltimore County, Maryland where he worked for 26 years. He was then hired as Roanoke County’s Police Chief back in 2012.
In his tenure, Hall has racked up a long list of accomplishments – from moving to data-driven policing, and developing an officer wellness program that prioritizes mental health, to constructing the roanoke county criminal justice academy.
He promoted evidence-based training for officers to respond to mental health crises and worked with the school division to increase safety.
Hall said the biggest mountain to climb was getting better pay for officers.
“Particularly in 2020, 2021 retention was an issue. We lost a lot of officers. And that happened across the profession. It’s not a roanoke issue, a Virginia issue. It’s across the United States,” Hall said. “Our officers now have a career path defined ... Compensation far, far better than what we had.”
In 2020, Hall served as president of the Virginia Association Chiefs of Police, lobbying in Richmond on various issues and legislation, including strengthening officer decertification procedures.
But he doesn’t take sole responsibility for his achievements.
“The accomplishments we’ve had have been about the members of this department working very hard ... working with our community, our administration, our board of supervisors to make things happen and keep our community safe,” Hall said.
As for the next steps, Hall said there’s an adventure on the horizon.
“My wife and I are planning to do some travel. We’ve got a few cruises booked for next year,” he said.
Hall admits challenges await his successor – particularly recruiting and retaining officers, but he feels comfortable leaving now because the department is in a good place.
“I’m retiring feeling like we’ve accomplished what we’ve needed to do over the last 10 years. And I’m not sure that everybody who leaves a position like this can do that,” Hall said. “I feel very good about where the department is in terms of being in a position to move forward.”