Our Next Speaker

Rick Edwards, Chief of the Richmond Police Department, “The Chief’s Report: Current Challenges and Future Outlook”

Chief Rick Edwards joined the Richmond (VA) Police Department in 1999. He held positions as a Patrol Officer, ATF Task Force Officer, Aggravated Assault / Sex Crimes Detective, and Homicide Detective. In 2012, he was promoted to the rank of Patrol Sergeant. In 2013, he was assigned as a Detective Sergeant in the Homicide Unit. In 2017, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. In 2020, he became Captain in command of the 1st Precinct. In 2021, he was assigned as the Acting Major overseeing Patrol Services – Area 1. October 2022, he was appointed Acting Chief of Police for the City of Richmond and formally sworn in as Richmond’s 21st Chief of Police on July 24, 2023.

Chief Edwards has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Richmond. He played basketball at UR and played professionally in Europe. He is a graduate of the 79th session of the Police Executive Research Forum’s (PERF) Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP), the 51st session of Virginia Chief of Police’s (VACP), Professional Executive Leadership School (PELS) at the University of Richmond, and the 47th session of the FBI’s National Executive Institute (NEI).