At the weekly Columbus Rotary luncheon at Lion Hills Tuesday, Interim Police Chief Fred Shelton talked about the difficulty of keeping officers in the Columbus Police Department.
The police force currently has 54 officers and is budgeted for 67. Shelton said the Columbus City Council plans to increase the department’s budget so it can have a force of 77, so Shelton says the department has plans to hire about 23 more officers.
Part of the reason it has been understaffed is because of pay, Shelton said. No officer works just for the money, Shelton said, but officers still have more of an incentive to work for the county, where they earn slightly more, than the city.
The average Columbus patrolman’s starting salary is in the $30,000 range, Shelton said.
“(They) can go down the road in Columbus to another law enforcement agency and make some extra money and (use) a little better equipment, get a little better benefits,” Shelton said.
“At some point we’re going to have to start working to give our officers … incentives to work better and work more efficiently,” he added. “Pay is one of the issues and getting people that live here actually in Columbus.”
Shelton wants to focus on recruiting and hiring from within the community. The CPD will start an aggressive recruiting program, recruiting potential applicants from both within and outside Lowndes County and helping applicants step by step through the process of applying to the department.
Shelton also promised he would not leave the Columbus Police Department when his time being interim chief is up.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Shelton said. “Columbus has been good to me … As a good army trooper, I will continue my mission.”
Shelton was named interim chief of the department in November, following the resignation of Chief Tony Carleton. Shelton applied for the permanent chief position, but the city council announced last week it had appointed Oscar Lewis to the post. Lewis is a former CPD officer and a current chief of police in Waynesboro.
Shelton’s speech to club members mainly focused on the importance of community policing and open communication between the police department and citizens. He has been promoting community policing at public meetings over the past several weeks.
Shelton said it is the CPD’s job to educate the public not only about what law enforcement officers do, but how citizens can assist officers. Shelton encouraged those listening to call 911 when they notice suspicious activity. He also told anyone who has a gun to visit the CPD’s shooting range where officers will show gun owners the correct ways to use and store firearms.
“This is our community,” he said. “Let’s take it back.”
One club member asked if officers are more hesitant to go into certain situations or to use force because of the frequency of reports about police brutality in the national media, as well as the scrutiny the CPD came under following the shooting of Columbus resident Ricky Ball by a Columbus police officer in October. Officers are more cautious going into high-risk situations, Shelton said. The CPD is emphasizing that officers must always have their cameras on, especially when shooting, and are being trained more carefully about when to use force, he told club members.
When making an arrest for a misdemeanor crime, such as public drunkenness, using force is not necessary, Shelton said. Officers should only use force during felony crimes that could result in the serious injury or death of someone else, he added.
Still Shelton promised officer morale was reasonably high.
“We’re still doing our job and we’re doing it effectively,” he said.
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