Chapter 21, Page 19
POLICE TO DEAL WITH SEVERE STAFFING SHORTAGES
Karin Ivers, Pallad City Post
[Archived Article: Published 1 Month Ago]
In the midst of rising crime rates, an illegal drug crisis, and another wave of budget cuts, the Pallad City Police Department is struggling to cope with critical staffing shortages. Over the last four months, the PCPD reported a 24% decrease in staff across all departmental divisions, including patrol officers and dispatch operators.
The agency also announced that their dispatch center is having trouble managing a significant increase in call volume. Starting next month, with insufficient staffing to cover late night shifts, there will be limited response to calls between 3 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., except for violent incidents, which include homicide and aggravated assault.
In hopes of filling more positions, the Pallad City Police Academy has eliminated limits on class enrollment size, changed its physical fitness requirements, and is re-evaluating its written entrance exam. A new written exam is under development, but passing a written test is no longer a requirement for graduation.
Another attempt at bolstering recruitment numbers is the Fast-Track Enrollment (FTE) program. Billed as an “accelerated” police academy training curriculum, FTE was designed to alleviate the officer shortage by moving recruits into the department as quickly as possible. Originally intended to be a three and a half month program, some recruits reportedly graduated in under one month. The results have been less than promising—according to a source in the PCPD, numerous officers who graduated the program ended up quitting the force within months, others in just weeks. A lack of training may also account for the surge in officer injuries and deaths since the FTE program began.
Last week, the PCPD released their quarterly report, highlighting an escalation in violent crime throughout the city. With a 37% increase in shootings, burglaries, robberies, and aggravated assaults over the last year, many officers are now working longer shifts than ever and without overtime pay—the result of extensive budget constraints.
How the PCPD plans to combat this latest increase in crime is currently unknown. Police Chief Victor Hardiman was not immediately available for comment.
Danger Zone One. Story by Midnight. Art by Salaiix.
It’s moments like this that TRULY remind us of how human we truly are. No matter how skilled we are, no matter how much we train and master, no matter how much experience that we gain over time, we’re all bound by the limitations of what we’re capable of doing in order to achieve our goals in life, for that is the true essence of what being a human being truly is…………………….
Talk about the choice words that Madison gives out here. It is a very difficult job being a cop, but it is necessary to protect those that need it.