The Louisville Metro Police Department, struggling with a spike in retirements and resignations and a lack of qualified recruits, is short 100 officers from the 1,264 authorized in its budget. That's about the size of a patrol district - prompting worries among officers, the FOP and even the police chief. "It's a high number, and we'd certainly like to see it less," said Police Chief Robert White. White said he and his command staff expected the spike in vacancies and have spent the past several weeks working to ensure enough officers remain on the street. He has approved transfers of some officers into districts hardest hit by the vacancies. He's working to hire more than a dozen civilians to fill jobs now done by officers. He's received permission from city leaders to add 10 recruits to next month's academy class of 30. And this year's police budget includes money for two recruit classes - one next month and another that could start in February. White said the vacancies haven't prompted a surge in his overtime budget, although that might come. Commanders are monitoring response times weekly to make sure they don't change, he said.
Police departments across the country are wrestling with vacancies, and before merger, the old city and county departments typically had a combined vacancy of 60 to 70 officers. But union leaders say the recent surge is being felt on the street. Leaders with the local Fraternal Order of Police say they're worried that response times will increase and that officers' safety could be jeopardized. "When platoons aren't running at full levels, the amount of calls don't slow down," said Jon Pugh, vice president of the local FOP. "It affects the amount of time officers have to make calls." Policies fueling problem?White said he inherited a small list of applicants when he took over the merged departments in January 2003. As a result, the department had smaller recruit classes - at a time when more officers retired, resigned or in a few cases, were terminated. Richard Dotson, president of the local FOP, has maintained that many officers are leaving because they are not satisfied with the merged police department. Officers have complained about the White administration's management style and are tired of policies continually changing. "They're not happy," Dotson said. "They don't like working conditions, they don't like what's going on." Former Detective Robert O'Neil said he retired this month and took a law enforcement job elsewhere because he was unhappy with the changes. But White said his analysis of the turnover rate doesn't show disappointed officers leaving in droves. "That's a crock of crap, and I'm tired of hearing it," he said in an interview. Most officers leaving are taking normal retirement, opting for a second career or leaving because of family obligations, he said. Former Sgt. David Blake, 41, said he decided to take retirement recently after 21 years on the department to become a full-time Jefferson County sheriff's deputy. "Mine was a career move," said Blake, adding that he now is able to spend more time with his wife and two children and help out at his church, Fern Creek Christian. "This was an advancement for me. I could draw my pension and go to work elsewhere." Jay Blanton, a spokesman for Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson's office, said White had been candid about the vacancy problem. "We knew this issue he was facing and that it was going to create additional vacancies. We knew there are typically more retirements this time of year and that it would result in a blip, if you will," Blanton said. "But the job is getting done. The proof is in the numbers." Blanton pointed to the arrest numbers for the 2nd, 4th and 6th districts, typically areas with the most crime. The number of arrests in the first six months of this year is up significantly over the same period last year. Maj. Vince Robison, commander of C District, which had seven vacancies, said temporary transfers are helping ease the problem there. Earlier this month, three officers were transferred to C District from the department's training division. Training director Bob Stewart said he is restructuring the department so it eventually will be cut by three officers. Vacancies nationwide Officer retention is a problem across the nation, as agencies are struggling to recruit quality candidates as longtime officers retire early, said Craig Birdwhistell, director of the Kentucky Association of the Chiefs of Police. "Most of these officers after 20 or 25 years of service, they are ready to retire and move on to a second career," Birdwhistell said. "What happens is when you're close to retirement age, you can go on to something less stressful and dangerous and sometimes double your income." The trouble is, Birdwhistell said, that departments can't hire in anticipation of retirements, so they end up with large numbers of vacancies. April Krandra, a retired lieutenant from Fairfax, Va., who travels the nation presenting classes on police retention and recruiting, agreed. But departments need to identify why people are leaving and address contributing issues, she said. Many departments, for example, are becoming more family friendly, trying to accommodate the Generation X officers who might be more focused on family and friends than work. "Just about every department in the country is struggling with a turnover problem," she said. "It's what they do about it that is important."