Dawn Baumgartner Vaughn
Charlotte Observer
ZEBULON, N.C. — Local law enforcement leaders are asking for more help to fill vacancies faster and get more officers on the job.
Zebulon Police Department Chief Jackie Boykin said there are four vacancies within the department.
“That may not sound like a lot, but when you’re talking about 26 officers, that’s a huge deal. A quarter of our patrol force is missing,” Boykin told reporters during a news conference Wednesday at the Department of Justice building in downtown Raleigh.
“And we’re desperately looking for people who are interested in serving their community and getting involved in this noble profession.”
“But let’s be honest, the pool of candidates we’re hiring is shallow,” Boykin added. “Anything the Legislature can do to improve our position and increase the pool will benefit me and the smaller agencies and agencies that are more rural and don’t necessarily have the applicant pool that some of the larger agencies have.”
During a news conference where Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein spoke about overall public safety needs, other police chiefs and sheriffs also spoke about the vacancy rates.
Further lessons from law enforcement include:
Why is law enforcement understaffing a problem?
▪ Emergency response
Stein said he frequently hears stories of chiefs and sheriffs struggling to recruit and retain officers.
“Dealing with violent crime and drug trafficking is a tough job,” Stein said. The vacancies would put additional strain on current officers, he said.
Smaller law enforcement agencies, especially, are slower to respond to emergency calls due to staffing shortages, he said.
▪ Officer safety
Apex Police Chief Jason Armstrong said another factor in the staffing shortage is officers “feeling safe out on the streets.” “One of the most common stories I hear from officers who want to leave the department is because they spend so much time working alone, or because they’re in a big rural area and backup is 20, 30, 40 minutes away.”
“When you get involved in an altercation where your life is at risk, it’s not an ideal situation,” Armstrong said.
He said officers need to feel secure that they will have the support they need at any time during their shift, day or night.
▪ Prison security
Durham County Sheriff Clarence Birkhead said all agencies are “suffering from staffing shortages.”
“There are currently 83 vacancies in the Durham County Sheriff’s Office jail. We have close to 400 people housed in the facility. So it makes sense that we need to have the proper staffing and adequate manpower to run this facility safely and securely,” he said.
What is the solution to the recruitment and retention problem?
▪ Are there incentives for recruiting from out of state?
Birkhead cited possible solutions to the vacancies as increasing salaries and “removing some of the barriers so we can hire from outside the state to fill those vacancies.”
Armstrong said the state could create more incentives to recruit law enforcement officers from out of state, such as lowering the bar, which would mean roughly 200 hours of additional training even if they already have a 20-year law enforcement career, including experience as a police chief.
“North Carolina has an opportunity to send a message to future police officers that this is the state they want to be in for this career,” Armstrong said.
▪ Are there incentives for retired police officers to work?
One of Stein’s proposed adoption solutions was to urge state lawmakers to pass legislation. House Bill 768The bill, called the “Return to Work After Retirement for Law Enforcement Officers,” would allow retired officers to receive their retirement benefits when they return to work. The bill passed the House 118-0 in May 2023 but has not yet been taken up by the Senate.
▪ Will my salary increase?
Raleigh has one of the lowest starting salaries in the city, but the mayor’s proposed budget proposes raising starting salaries and giving some police officers a 10% pay increase.
The mayor of Durham proposed Increase the salaries of new executives It will increase by 14 percent to $54,817 to support recruitment and retention.
▪ Financial aid?
Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood said: Criminal Justice Fellows ProgramCommunity college student loan forgiveness is one way to help with recruitment.
Blackwood said recruitment and retention is “not an issue unique to North Carolina or law enforcement.”
“I think we can all agree that every aspect of the American workforce has been affected over the last five years. I mean, times have changed. The way we hire employees has to change,” he said.
Blackwood said that while in the past, recruits could be expected to stay for 10 or 15 years, “that’s not the case anymore. It wouldn’t be surprising if after a few years they decide police work isn’t for them or they want to move on to another agency or a better-paying job.”
What kind of open positions are agencies finding around the Triangle?
Detailed data regarding vacancies in Triangle Police Department are as follows:
▪ The Orange County Sheriff’s Office currently has five openings, Blackwood said.
▪ Mebane police station has four vacancies out of 46 police officers.
▪ The Durham County Sheriff’s Office has 10 police vacancies and 83 jail staff positions, a vacancy rate of 37 percent, Birkhead said.
▪ There are five vacant posts in Apex Police Station.
▪ The Raleigh Police Department has between 80 and 90 vacancies, which is about 10% of the force.
▪ Durham Police Department is about 75% staffed, with more than 130 officer vacancies.
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