WMPD now offering new recruits sign-on bonuses

WMPD now offering new recruits sign-on bonuses

Chief, city hope to curtail turnover in department

news@theeveningtimes.com West Memphis Police Chief Donald Oakes told the city council police commission he needed a tourniquet to stop the bleeding of attrition in the officers ranks. He provided turnover statistics to commissioners and asked commissioners for permission to offer sign on bonuses to help attract new certified officers.

Oakes told city councilmen that the average tenure on the department in the uniform patrol division fell short of just two and one half years.

“That includes Chief West sitting right here with 40 years on the department,” said Oakes. “Five years with us is literally the equivalent of a 20 year career elsewhere in Arkansas,” said Oakes. “Our average longevity in uniformed patrol is a little over two years and department-wide about seven years.”

The department runs its own academy for rookie recruits twice a year which is followed by another three months of on the job learning training (FTO). The cost to hire, train, and equipped an inexperienced officer was reported at $40,000. Oakes asked for pool of $30,000 to use as incentive money to attract tenured officers. He modeled the plan after a program instituted by both Fort Smith and Little Rock Police Departments.

“I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel,” said Oakes. “I want to implement something with proven results. Each time we hire a new recruit it is a $40,000 investment because they send six months at the academy or the FTO program while we pay their salaries and other benefits plus the equipment cost. So, we are bleeding money.”

Oakes said the price to attract many officers was a bargain compared to the cost to develop an new officer.

The department just started an academy October 1, with 11 recruits. Oakes reported two had washed out after the first weekend following the reports of three shooting deaths of police officers in Mississippi.

“I’m very proud of our last academy class, and this time we have another great group of kids,” said Oakes. “Even so, you have to suspect you won’t graduate them all. When they hit the streets I will already be shorthanded again. One told us they did not want to become that statistic and quit, The other quit after we showed local footage of police being shot at.”

Not only did the department drop a pair of recruits but three experienced officers quit last week.

“One officer went to Blytheville, one to Cross County to work in the schools and one to Cherry Valley to work as the chief. It’s a small department but his pay was enough to justify it.

The chief said the bleeding was fast. Even with the remaining academy cadets, Oakes said he’d be short staffed the minute the new class hit the streets.

“Unless something changes, I already know I will be 10-12 officers short by June of next year,” said Oakes.

The chief explained that for the cost of bringing one rookie up to speed, he could attract trained officers with experience that could go straight to work after a short orientation on patrol.

The chief outlined issuing up to a $5,000 bonus to attract experienced officers who’d sign an employment contract to serve.

“If you leave in the first year you’d pay it all back,” said Oakes. “If you leave in the second year you’d pay back 50 percent,” said Oakes. “Its two full years before you’d own it and don’t have to pay it back. Every certified officer I hire is one less uncertified I have to train.

The individual sign-on bonus level would be set for the discretion of the chief with approval of the mayor. He did not ask for six blank checks worth $5,000.

“I’d Like a budget amendment to allow me $30,000 to make up to a $5,000 bonus.” said Oakes, “If a guy only has two years at a smaller department, maybe $2,000 would be offered that individual because under state law I’d have to go back and pay some of his training costs (to the other department).

Unless we do that and bring in four or five certified officers we’re going to be faced with slots that I cannot fill. Experienced officers will not come otherwise.”

Oakes said competitive advantage with higher salaries the West Memphis Police once enjoyed is gone.” Oakes asked the commission for immediate action.

“We are going to have a problem next year if we don’t do this now,” said Police. “We’ve allowed the agencies around us to catch up. They caught us in pay. They caught us in benefits. That means I have to have some way for them to want to work here where we do more.” “What has caught us too is work load,” said Captain Joe Baker. “Our call volume per officer exceeds call per day that Memphis is getting. A patrolman can go to the Crittenden County Sheriff’s Office and for the same money answer two calls per day while our guys answer 15 or more. They don’t just look at money, the look at work load too.

The chief recapped the turnover over the last two years to justify the sign-on bonus plan. The department turned 31 officers.

“There is only 80 of us,” said Oakes, “that’s like 40 percent. I lost six to the Crittenden County Sheriff office in the last 18 months. I never lost to the sheriff office but they have caught us in salary and benefits. We lost 17 that left police work for civilian jobs. We are having a horrible time retaining them. And because were can’t retain, we cannot recruit fast enough to fill the slots.”

It’s not for lack of trying according to the chief.

“In the last year I spent $4,000 on e-mail recruiting blasts to those that had Google searched for mid-south police jobs. We sent them all recruiting e-mails with applications. We have done radio adds across the spectrum, rock, country, rap ,and a blues channel to get applicants. We have exhausted local options. We have begged everybody who wants a job to come apply. We’ve gone to very job fair; we even went to UT-Martin. I can’t get applicants. My turnover problem is causing my recruiting problem because we are trying to recruit 20 per year. That causes us to run two academies per year.”

Commissions voted to refer the sign-on bonus package to the entire city council for immediate consideration.

By John Rech