Cervera selected as Virginia Beach police chief

VIRGINIA BEACH

Deputy Chief Jim Cervera, the Police Department's most senior officer, will be the city's next police chief.

City Manager Jim Spore announced Tuesday that he'd selected Cervera, who has served as interim chief since former Chief Jake Jacocks Jr. retired July 1. Cervera will officially change titles Sept. 1.

"I'm extremely humbled and I'm honored," he said.

Spore said little about his plans for the job until the surprise announcement to City Council. The city had solicited bids for a search firm to help find candidates but didn't hire one, city spokesman Marc Davis said.

Cervera was the only candidate he considered, Spore said. He said he decided to forgo a national search to save time and money.

"When I thought about what Jim Cervera brings to the job, he just exceeded every expectation," he said.

The last time the chief's spot was open, in 1999, it cost the city $34,472 and took about 7-1/2 months before Spore selected Jacocks, the top internal candidate.

Councilman Jim Wood, a former police officer who represents the Lynnhaven area, applauded Spore's decision.

"Spending the money to hire a consultant to tell us that we had the right guy already here would've been a waste of money," he said. "Jim has put in a lot of years with the department and certainly has the depth of knowledge and experience to be a terrific police chief, and I think he will."

A New Jersey native, Cervera started out as a police officer in Montclair in 1976, according to his biography on the Police Department website.

In July 1978, he joined the Virginia Beach Police Department. He has since led a SWAT team, served on the Labor Day Task Force, which the city formed to help prevent a recurrence of the violence that occurred during the 1989 Greekfest riots, and commanded the 2nd Precinct, which encompasses the Oceanfront and the northeast sector of the city. He also served on the federal search-and-rescue team, Virginia Task Force 2.

Cervera became a deputy chief overseeing the department's Operations Division on May 1, 2000, according to his bio. He has a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and a master's degree in public administration.

As chief, Cervera will lead Hampton Roads' largest police force, consisting of 806 sworn officers, 167 civilians and an $86.7 million budget. He'll also get a pay raise, from $116,194 in his current job to $130,136 as chief.

Sam Reid, former president and current programs chair for the Virginia Beach Council of Civic Organizations, said Cervera is well known among the city's civic leaders.

"He was the only choice in my book," Reid said. "He's really tapped into the heartbeat of our city, and if there's anybody who could step up and take Jake's place, it would be Jim."

Cervera said community policing and recruiting minorities to the department will be among his top priorities.

"We have a low crime rate in our city, and that's not by accident," Cervera said. "We have an excellent Police Department and we have a tremendous amount of community support, so we're going to capitalize on both to continue to move the organization forward."

Pilot writer Aaron Applegate contributed to this report.

Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com