Keeping cops problem for many
Finding good candidates and retaining them after hiring is a major problem these days for police departments in communities the size of Decatur.
It’s been a huge struggle for Decatur’s outgoing police chief, Leonard Corral Jr., and before going out the door to take a new post at the Adams Health Network, he offered the city’s board of works and safety at its latest meeting some suggestions he believes might prove helpful.
Corral certainly understands the problem. In his just-over five years as chief, he has had numerous personnel changes. At one time last year the department was down to 16 officers, including the chief and Deputy Chief Chris Brite – far below its full complement of 20 officers.
The last time he took applications for a fulltime post, Corral received only four applications. One of them, Logan LeMaster, has joined the force, having passed his PERF (Public Employees Retirement Fund) physical and psychological examinations.
Corral listed three recommendations which might help recruit and retain new officers.
A new officer now has to wait a full year before getting any vacation time and that should change. “We haven’t changed the way we hire in 30 or so years,” Corral noted.
Drop the policy in which a new hire has to wait one year to get a held-back $1,000 of his salary.
Shorten the current policy of a three-year wait for longevity pay.
Those ideas come after talking with police chiefs of other departments Decatur’s size. “Everyone around us is going through the same thing,”
Corral said.
“I’m not looking for a decision, I’m just doing what you asked,” he told the board. “It’s something for you to chew on.” RESERVED: Meanwhile, John Summers, captain of the police department’s reserve force, offered the board of works a new SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for that portion of the PD.
“I’m trying to give it the structure it needs,” he said of the three-phase protocol.
He noted that the reserve officer role “requires a lot of training.”
The document was taken under advisement and Mayor Dan Rickord told Summers, “I appreciate all the work you have done on this.”