Ask ten police officers what makes a department a great place to work and you may get ten different answers.
Some will point to salary. Others will prioritize retirement benefits, specialized assignments, opportunities for advancement, location, community support, or simply finding an agency where they can build a career without sacrificing everything outside of it.
There are plenty of departments around the country that routinely earn attention on lists of desirable law enforcement employers. Agencies in places like Plano and Frisco, Texas, and Cary and Raleigh, North Carolina, have all been highlighted for combinations of compensation, benefits, quality of life, training, and career opportunities.
But if we were making our own list, there is another department we think deserves serious consideration.
The Liberty University Police Department in Lynchburg, Va.
Mission-Driven, Purpose-Driven
LUPD is a full-service, CALEA-accredited law enforcement agency, but what sets the department apart is the mission behind the badge. Its stated commitment to “Protecting Through Service” reflects Liberty University’s broader Christian identity and gives officers an opportunity to serve in an environment where faith, character, and public service are expected to go hand in hand.
For officers who want their work to feel connected to something larger than the daily call load, that sense of purpose can be a meaningful part of the job. LUPD’s core values include professionalism, integrity, respect, accountability, loyalty, courage, teamwork, and Christlike service, all centered on protecting Liberty’s students, faculty, staff, and visitors.
That mission is also tied to a distinctive place to build a career. Situated in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Central Virginia, Liberty’s campus spans over 7,000 acres and offers a setting far removed from the concrete landscape surrounding many traditional police departments. The university maintains more than 50 miles of hiking and biking trails across Liberty Mountain, along with extensive athletic and recreational facilities.
Employees can take advantage of amenities including the campus recreational facilities, as well as the Hydaway Outdoor Center for kayaking, fishing, camping, swimming, paddleboarding, and other outdoor recreation. For someone early in a law enforcement career, especially someone deciding where to put down roots, that combination of purpose, community, and quality of life can make the job feel like more than simply choosing an agency. It can mean choosing a place to build a life.
Tuition
Ever thought about higher education? Liberty University could be your pathway.
Eligible Liberty University employees receive a 100 percent discount for undergraduate degrees for themselves and their dependents.
For a young officer who wants to finish a bachelor's degree, pursue a master's degree, or eventually move into administration, investigations, emergency management, or another specialized field, that can represent a substantial long-term benefit.
For an officer with children, the potential value becomes even more significant.
A career at Liberty could mean the opportunity to pursue your own education while simultaneously giving your children access to a university education through the employee benefit.
And this is not simply a perk buried on an HR page that nobody seems to care about.
Education benefits repeatedly show up in reviews from Liberty employees as one of the university's biggest advantages.
No workplace receives universal praise, and Liberty's reviews certainly include criticism. But even mixed reviews repeatedly return to benefits, educational opportunities, coworkers, community, and the university's Christian environment as positives.
A Police Job That Doesn't Have to Look the Same Every Year
There is another advantage for officers who do not want to spend an entire career doing exactly the same thing.
LUPD maintains a variety of specialized assignments:
Its K-9 Unit includes teams trained and certified in explosive detection that conduct security sweeps for special events and can assist outside agencies. Its Investigations Unit handles follow-up investigations and gives detectives opportunities for advanced investigative training.
The department also operates an Intelligence Unit that conducts threat assessments and works with the Virginia State Police Fusion Center on crime trends, criminal organizations, terrorism-related threats, and other intelligence matters.
There are also School Resource, Training, Road Patrol, Security Services, and Records units, creating multiple directions an employee's career can take without necessarily having to leave the university.
For someone entering the profession through LUPD's armed Security Services team, there is even a defined route toward becoming a sworn police officer through the Central Virginia Criminal Justice Academy.
All of these potential career orientations make Liberty an interesting option not only for experienced officers looking for a change but for someone at the beginning of a law enforcement career.
A Lively College Campus
Working university law enforcement also brings assignments that few traditional departments can replicate, and few places match that college experience the way Liberty does.
Liberty is home to 20 NCAA Division I athletic teams, more than 40 Club Sports teams, major university gatherings, concerts, student events, and a 30,000-seat football stadium.
That means LUPD personnel can find themselves working everything from ordinary patrol operations to crowded football Saturdays, Commencement, and major special events.
In fact, Liberty Police Chief Gerald Irwin and Director of Emergency Management & Community Engagement Jeffrey Hurtak were invited to speak at the University of Notre Dame's Unified Response Symposium in 2025, where public safety representatives from 36 higher education institutions gathered to discuss large-scale emergency management.
Liberty's representatives specifically presented the university's approach to security during football games, Commencement, and other major events requiring extensive planning and monitoring.
For an officer who enjoys large-event operations, planning, K-9 work, intelligence, investigations, or simply having assignments that change with the university calendar, this variety creates a different kind of law enforcement career.
Work Somewhere You Can Enjoy When the Shift Ends
Perhaps one of Liberty's most underrated recruiting advantages is what happens after you clock out.
You are already in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. More than 50 miles of trails are nearby. The campus has fitness facilities, an ice center, a gun club, bowling, outdoor recreation, and one of the country's few year-round ski slopes.
Lynchburg is a lively community with all of the restaurants, shopping, churches, outdoor activities, and amenities of a regional city without placing an officer in the middle of one of America's largest metropolitan areas.
Liberty's employment package adds medical, dental, and vision coverage, a 403(b) retirement match of up to 5 percent, paid vacation, sick leave, holidays, additional Christmas time off, employee discounts, and other benefits.
Combine those benefits with the tuition program, specialized law enforcement assignments, a major university environment, and thousands of acres of Blue Ridge Mountain scenery, and LUPD starts making a compelling case for itself.
There may never be one objectively "best" police department for every officer in America.
But for an officer looking for professional growth, a distinctive community, strong family benefits, educational opportunities, and a place where life outside the uniform has plenty to offer, we think the Liberty University Police Department deserves to be near the top of the list.
And right now, LUPD is looking for people interested in joining.
Certified law enforcement officers can pursue sworn positions with the department, while candidates beginning their careers can explore opportunities with LUPD Security Services and a pathway toward becoming a police officer.
Interested candidates can learn more about qualifications, benefits, current opportunities, and the application process through Liberty University's official Join LUPD page.
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