Charlottesville Police Chief J.W. "Buddy" Rittenhouse announced his retirement yesterday, ending 35 years of service to the community.
Rittenhouse will retire Feb. 28, 2001. Age was a primary motivation for his retirement, he said.
He listed a significant decrease in the crime rate and increased police-department morale as two of his major accomplishments during his two-and-a-half-year tenure.
Since 1998, the city's overall crime rate has dropped 16 percent.
In the last year alone, there was a 27 percent reduction in major crimes, including rape, robbery, homicide and burglary.
The 27 percent reduction "is way above the national average," he said. "We have reduced the overall crime rate 8 percent each year due to citizens, police and the business community working together against crime."
Rittenhouse said his predecessor, John Wolferd, left a department devoid of strong morale, leaving Rittenhouse room for improvement "right off the bat."
When Rittenhouse took over as chief, he said he asked officers to "show up on time, work hard and work by the rules and the officers performed marvelously."
The police department also has become more diverse during his tenure. It promoted three female detectives, a female supervisor and an African-American sergeant.
Thanks in part to Rittenhouse's work, the police department may soon receive accreditation this month when assessors from Richmond evaluate the department. Accreditation "really helps in many ways. It professionalizes the department, reduces liability, complaints and insurance rates," Rittenhouse said.
Rittenhouse also is respected by officers who work with him. "I think he's done a great job in his time at the police department," Sgt. Ron Willis said. "He has helped the department progress and become more professional."
The Office of the City Manager has not yet finalized plans for its nationwide search for a new police chief.
"An advertisement will be placed in newspapers and a headhunter may also be involved [in the search]," said Assistant City Manager Rochelle Small-Toney.
The plan will be finalized during the next couple of weeks, she said.
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