There was a time when I knew every police officer in the Wrightsville Beach Police Department. I knew them — they knew me. Being a small town girl, I liked that.
Now I just know one or two. Beginning in April, nine police officers have resigned, including Paul Burdette, the capable captain hired three years ago following Captain Teresa Fountain’s retirement after a 30-year career on the force.
Despite the encouraging positive spin Chief Dan House puts on each new resignation, citing promotions, family choices or better locations, the sheer quantity of the resignations indicates something in the department could be amiss.
Yes, House is popular with residents, holding cozy Chats with the Chief, regularly reporting the crime rate is down.
But the volume of the resignations must focus attention on the department’s leadership and administration.
Chief House does not have the experience of the previous two chiefs. He had just 13 years of experience when he was hired in 2011. Outgoing chief John Carey retired after 30 years on the town’s police department.
This is a difficult issue to dig into because policing is different from civilian jobs. In order to be hired at the next police department an officer must have a positive referral from his outgoing chief, so regardless of what the story is over there officers’ lips are very tightly sealed.
Compensation and classification studies provide local governments with a customized salary structure. The purpose is to ensure that a community has accurate job specifications and salaries that will help retain the best employees and attract qualified applicants. Title and job specifications are examined to determine if they accurately reflect the duties and nature of the job. Salary ranges are examined for external competitiveness and internal equity.
It has been over a decade since the town had a pay and classification study, so there is no real way to assess if the town’s officers are as underpaid as many suggest.
The question hangs in the air: would the town have a 36 percent turnover in half a year if everything were hunky dory?
Traditionally the municipal manager and chief are tightly joined at the hip, and town manager Tim Owens ain’t talking.
The police department’s squads worked short-handed all summer; the first two officers resigned in April, then five followed in quick succession in July. Chief House has hired at least five officers who went through the training process and were to begin work this week. Of the five, three have prior police experience, while two are rookies currently in the department’s 16-week field training program.
Other positions need to be filled, including an investigator position. The town is advertising on its website police officer open positions with a $32,833- $51,023 starting salary and a police investigator at $34,474- $53,573, both depending on experience.
While it may be cheaper to hire new people rather than pay those who have been there awhile, it doesn’t always work out for the best.
One thing is for certain, it will take years of recovering. Yes, it is great Chief House has these new hires, but now they need to be trained, learn the streets, residents and town’s issues, as well as the town’s criminal activity.
Chief House says crime is down, but is it? Is the crime rate down because the number of citations being written is down, because the number of officers is down?
How is the crime rate determined? The number of arrests are down, but are the numbers of vehicle stops police make down as well?
One of the facts in this conundrum is the number of citations being written is way down, as much as 58 percent April – July. Town ordinance violations April – July 2014 were 708, the same period this year saw just 295. Town ordinance violations July – Sept 2014 were 482, but for this past July – Sept that number was 404.
The department’s operating budget includes an estimate of the revenue to be generated by citations and those numbers are reportedly down between $100,000 – $200,000.
Is there a correlation between time spent doing paperwork and the fewer number of citations being written? People certainly are not behaving better.
The coveted CALEA accreditation certification the town received this summer during the height of the resignations is frequently mentioned in any discussion of what is going on in the police department. There is a cost associated with the accreditation. Conferences need to be attended. And there is paperwork. Standardization of procedures is a big plus, but in a town this small, the hard question must be answered, does the increased paperwork create negatives in morale and in the budget? Is the time spent doing paperwork better spent writing citations?
For those officers leaving, coming from a CALEA accredited department looks good, but is resume building what the town needs or is it public safety?
The town of Cary, with 255 employees, commissions a pay and classification study every single year. The town of Wrightsville Beach, with about 90 employees, has not done one in over 10 years. All departments could seriously benefit from a class and pay study. While not suggesting this would halt resignations in the police department, before a 10th officer gives notice, a competent third party should look into things. While hoping the chief is right and a loss of 36 percent of the police force is all an unfortunate string of coincidences, it is time to know for sure.
