With the resignation of an eighth Wrightsville Beach police officer this week, and a ninth departure pending, police chief Daniel House said coverage of the town is getting more difficult.
“It’s strained,” said House, who himself has been on patrols. “We’re doing our best to cover the beach strands. We’ve had to cover it using our regular patrols. Plus, we’re taking our command staff and working them to death. We are trying to fill in where we have holes.”
A recently promoted sergeant’s resignation this week marks the sixth since July 18 and the eighth since April — although one was a reserve officer who never actually served — leaving a police force budgeted for 25 full-time and five reserve officers significantly short-staffed. A ninth officer has indicated he will resign for another opportunity, though the timing of that departure still hasn’t been determined, town manager Tim Owens said.
Despite the challenges brought on by the spate of departures, officials said the department is still providing full coverage of the town, including the busy beach strand.
“All of my officers include the beach strands in their normal routine,” Wrightsville Beach Police Capt. Paul Burdette said. “The beach is always going to be patrolled.”
Park ranger Shannon Slocum will also actively patrol the beach, along with deputies from the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office who cover Wrightsville Beach as part of an agreement between the forces to add an additional police presence during busy summer months, public information officer Jerry Brewer said.
House said he is close to hiring new officers. Two potential employees have gone through the pre-hire process and only need to be approved by the North Carolina Training and Standard department, a division of the state Department of Justice. The process can take two to four weeks, but House is trying to expedite the review.
Another three applicants are in the department’s final review process and could be good candidates to join the force, House said.
“That we have some people coming in with experience is really good news,” House said.
While there were some complaints on the force from a few officers passed over for promotion, House said only one of the departed officers cited that as his reason for leaving.
In the case of the sergeant whose resignation was effective Monday, House said he had been promoted to the detective division but was moved back to patrol when departures mounted in July. However, the officer had made it known for at least 18 months that he had wanted to move to North Carolina Marine Fisheries, which is where he is transferring.
“He was a rising star in the agency,” House said. “We told him if it didn’t work out, he could come back.”
House said Owens conducted interviews with the officers who left, their supervisors and also their peers. One issue was redundant paperwork, which House said the department has worked to simplify.
Other officers sometimes complain about regularly being deployed on similar calls, such as noise complaints or rowdiness at downtown bars.
Alderman Lisa Weeks said one problem in retaining police officers is pay, especially since the town’s smaller budget makes it difficult to match the salaries of neighboring jurisdictions.
“Someone is always going to pay more than we do,” she said, adding that the cost of attracting, interviewing and training officers is significant.
Weeks said she hopes the police chief and town manager can come up with ideas that can help retain officers.
It’s a problem that isn’t isolated to just the police department. Weeks said the entire town could benefit from a human resources study that can help it be more competitive with salary and find the right people for the right positions.
The most recent pay and classification study was done 11 years ago.
“The key is finding the right company to do that kind of study,” she said. “They have to have experience with towns that rely on tourism and with communities our size.”
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