Police transfer program drawing fewer outside officers than expected
Fewer qualified police officers from other Ohio law enforcement agencies than expected have applied for a program intended to help replenish the ranks of the Columbus Division of Police that have been reduced by buyouts and retirements.
For the first time ever, the city is allowing “lateral transfers,” where officers working at other law enforcement agencies can apply to join the Columbus Division of Police to help replace 100 officers who are leaving through a one-time $200,000 buyout, as well as a higher-than-average number of officers retiring over the last several years.
The city had a goal of 50 lateral transfer officers being a part of a training class that will begin July 25 at the James G. Jackson Columbus Police Academy. Public Safety Director Robert Clark said while that number might not be reached, the class is on track to begin as scheduled.
Why are so few officers in the class?
One of the reasons for the reduced number of officers in the special lateral transfer class: applying officers from outside agencies not meeting the minimum standards to join Columbus police.
Clark said he did not know exactly how many officers were prepared to begin the July 25 class, explaining that “most of them” are still in the hiring process.
Out of 150 lateral transfer applications received by the end of May, a Dispatch review found 53% did not meet the basic requirements the city had set for those officers. Those requirements include a minimum of five years of experience in law enforcement, no current or ongoing disciplinary issues and not being suspended within the last five years.
Exactly half of the applicants — 75 out of the 150 — said they had less than five years of law enforcement experience. Nine applicants reported they have current disciplinary action pending against them, and 22 applicants said they had been suspended from their agency within the last five years.
While suspensions can occur for non-disciplinary reasons — such as being suspended per policy following a critical incident while on duty — they do warrant higher scrutiny, Clark said.
How will candidates be vetted?
Clark said the city has been putting the lateral transfer candidates through a rigorous review process, including polygraph exams, psychological evaluations and medical testing.
“We are not lowering the standards” for joining the Columbus Division of Police, Clark said. “We are in an era where we are working very hard to build back trust, build back transparency, build back community engagement.”
He said officers who applied through the lateral transfer program are being evaluated on a case-by-case basis to determine their suitability to work with Columbus police.
In a Feb. 24 meeting with the Columbus Safety Advisory Commission, Clark said candidates coming from other agencies are going to be put through a “very stringent” and “rigorous” background check process that will include looking at work records.
“We will vet them like we do everyone else … to make sure we are not bringing in another department’s problems,” Clark said. “We think there’s going to be a lot of women and men across the state of Ohio who are going to see the change that is afoot in Columbus right now and want to be a part of that.”
The lateral transfer officers, because they already have basic police training, will go through an abbreviated 12-week police academy training that will focus on Columbus-specific policies and procedures. That academy term will be followed by a one-year probationary period that will include field training and on-the-job coaching from other officers.
As Columbus police continue to struggle with manpower and with more officers scheduled to leave through retirement in July, creative solutions have been employed to try and replace some of the losses. Lateral transfers is part of that, as well as plans for three recruit classes in 2022. One of those recruit classes will graduate in late July, with 58 officers anticipated to join the division.
“Because of the strains that we have within the Division of Police, they’re looking for all the help we can get,” Clark said. “Any additional officers we can bring to the street are going to help everywhere.”
He said current Columbus police officers are excited and embracing the opportunity to have lateral transfers join the division.
“We’ve solidified that buy-in and we see it as a valuable asset moving forward,” Clark said.
Where will new officers come from?
Columbus police have had officers from the division’s recruiting unit in Cleveland over the last several months, focused on attracting officers from that agency, as well as potential candidates to enter the academy.
According to the 150 applications, 38 applicants identified themselves as being currently employed as Cleveland police officers. Of those 38 applicants, 16 of them, or 42%, met the minimum requirements being sought for lateral transfers.
No officers from Cincinnati were included in the 150 applications. Nine officers from Dayton applied, with one-third meeting the minimum requirements. Five officers from Springfield police applied, with two of them meeting the minimum requirements.
There is some apparent appeal in becoming a Columbus police officer from other law enforcement agencies in Franklin County. There were 24 applications from other agencies, 50% of which met the minimum standards. Four of those officers were from Franklin Twp., which is reducing its patrol hours and eliminating a third shift after a levy was rejected by voters in May.
Lateral hiring an issue everywhere
The Franklin County Sheriff’s office has also been attempting to hire laterally. Jeff Simpson, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge #9, said the sheriff ’s office received 106 applications.
As of June 8, only two of the 106 had been hired. Another 36 were in various stages of the hiring process, but the remaining 68 had been removed for a number of reasons, including felony convictions and domestic violence accusations.
Simpson said the lateral transfer process is also not as streamlined as it could be, which may be a hinderance to officers looking to apply and could cause officers to withdraw their names from consideration, which happened with the sheriff ’s office.
“If I’m a chief and I get a guy from Dublin and I call over and he has nothing in his personnel file, he’s not under investigation, I check his previous discipline, then you do an interview and you bring them on over,” Simpson said.
“You still have to go through the background process here. That could be a good thing or it could be a bad thing. I don’t know how someone can have no issues at one department and then come here and get kicked off the list.”
Columbus is offering officers with more than five years of experience a starting salary of at least $89,293 a year, with guaranteed raises after four years on the job. Benefits also include life and health insurance, dental and vision insurance, paid time off and college tuition reimbursement