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In recent years, while the United States has waged a war on terror abroad, the Hannibal Police Department has been regularly fighting to cover a manpower shortage created by the overseas deployment of officers who are also military reservists. The HPD is now facing the deployment of three staff members.
Officer Andrew Bonsee and Cpl. Matt Wealer are both bound for Iraq this month (Wealer departs Monday, July 6). Sgt. Michael Rough is slated to leave next month for Afghanistan. A few weeks ago all were excused from their HPD duties to prepare for their time overseas.
“There needs to be some quality family time. We can’t be insensitive to that. They already have a dangerous job; now they’re going to go over and do another one,” said HPD Chief Lyndell Davis, who earlier this year welcomed Joel Combs back from overseas duty. “We’ve always try to be as accommodating as we can.”
Depending on the scheduled length of deployment, it is the department’s practice to give departing officers up to a month off before and after their tour of duty.
“It’s not a written policy it’s more of a practice that we do,” said Davis regarding the HPD’s time off policy in regard to officer deployments. “We value our employees. We also know that no matter what burden the department has on it by their departure, it’s 10-fold for the family. It’s their husband, their father who is leaving. What we have to go through, we’ll do just fine; it’s the families that really suffer in something like this.”
Routh, Wealer and Bonsee are all part of the department’s patrol operations division.
“That one division got hit particularly hard,” said Davis, who anticipates the trio will be gone approximately 15 months.
In May, Davis went before the city council to explain the situation the department would be facing.
“I asked in recognition of the fact we were going to be down three officers and have been chronically down because of the military call-ups for practically seven years, if this time we could explore hiring a few addition officers to offset some of these continuous departures. They agreed and allowed me to hire up to two more, which would raise our budgeted strength to 41,” he said.
One new officer has already been hired and Davis is hopeful of having the 41st officer employed by the end of July to early August.
Davis says it makes fiscal sense to hire the additional officers.
“It’s often cheaper to increase your staffing levels than to pay your current officers overtime just to plug in staffing gaps,” he said.
It will be some time before the impact of the new officers is fully felt.
“Way back when people thought we just handed a cop a gun and a badge and off they went, but now it’s just not that way. We are the most scrutinized and tested employees the city has by far,” said Davis. “Basically, if we had an opening today, by the time you get them through the hiring process, in-service and FTO (field training officer) period, you’re looking at five or six months at least, and we have streamlined the hiring process.”
The HPD, which also has one of its custodians (Rex Lang) currently on deployment leave, never knows when additional officers might be activated.
“In years past we’ve had even more officers called up,” said Davis. “We just don’t see an end to it any time soon.”
In recent years, while the United States has waged a war on terror abroad, the Hannibal Police Department has been regularly fighting to cover a manpower shortage created by the overseas deployment of officers who are also military reservists. The HPD is now facing the deployment of three staff members.
Officer Andrew Bonsee and Cpl. Matt Wealer are both bound for Iraq this month (Wealer departs Monday, July 6). Sgt. Michael Rough is slated to leave next month for Afghanistan. A few weeks ago all were excused from their HPD duties to prepare for their time overseas.
“There needs to be some quality family time. We can’t be insensitive to that. They already have a dangerous job; now they’re going to go over and do another one,” said HPD Chief Lyndell Davis, who earlier this year welcomed Joel Combs back from overseas duty. “We’ve always try to be as accommodating as we can.”
Depending on the scheduled length of deployment, it is the department’s practice to give departing officers up to a month off before and after their tour of duty.
“It’s not a written policy it’s more of a practice that we do,” said Davis regarding the HPD’s time off policy in regard to officer deployments. “We value our employees. We also know that no matter what burden the department has on it by their departure, it’s 10-fold for the family. It’s their husband, their father who is leaving. What we have to go through, we’ll do just fine; it’s the families that really suffer in something like this.”
Routh, Wealer and Bonsee are all part of the department’s patrol operations division.
“That one division got hit particularly hard,” said Davis, who anticipates the trio will be gone approximately 15 months.
In May, Davis went before the city council to explain the situation the department would be facing.
“I asked in recognition of the fact we were going to be down three officers and have been chronically down because of the military call-ups for practically seven years, if this time we could explore hiring a few addition officers to offset some of these continuous departures. They agreed and allowed me to hire up to two more, which would raise our budgeted strength to 41,” he said.
One new officer has already been hired and Davis is hopeful of having the 41st officer employed by the end of July to early August.
Davis says it makes fiscal sense to hire the additional officers.
“It’s often cheaper to increase your staffing levels than to pay your current officers overtime just to plug in staffing gaps,” he said.
It will be some time before the impact of the new officers is fully felt.
“Way back when people thought we just handed a cop a gun and a badge and off they went, but now it’s just not that way. We are the most scrutinized and tested employees the city has by far,” said Davis. “Basically, if we had an opening today, by the time you get them through the hiring process, in-service and FTO (field training officer) period, you’re looking at five or six months at least, and we have streamlined the hiring process.”
The HPD, which also has one of its custodians (Rex Lang) currently on deployment leave, never knows when additional officers might be activated.
“In years past we’ve had even more officers called up,” said Davis. “We just don’t see an end to it any time soon.”
