Police Chief Joseph Daughtry stood before the Columbus City Council Tuesday reporting on a familiar problem.
On the meeting’s agenda, the council approved hiring three new officers, pending pre-employment screenings. It also accepted resignations for two.
That constant turnover has left Columbus Police Department perpetually short-staffed. Of the 54 officers the city budgets for CPD, only 42 positions are filled.
Since Daughtry came on board in December 2022, he said 47 officers is the most he’s had. But the problem goes back well before then.
As recently as 2017, however, the city had 60 officers and was budgeted for 77.
“People have always wanted Columbus officers because they are well trained, well versed, they handle stressful situations. We’ve been a training pod for a while,” Daughtry told the council on Tuesday, noting the number of his officers leaving for other agencies. “It’s flattering. … It’s also upsetting because we invest a lot of time and money in these guys.
“… These young officers are flipping and flopping and going to wherever they think the grass may be just a little bit greener,” he added.
The problem is widespread. A recent survey from the Police Executive Research Forum found officer numbers nationwide are down about 5% from January 2020.
But among municipalities in the Golden Triangle, CPD’s staffing issues stand out. Though it pays officers the second most among city departments in the region – patrol officers start at $42,576 annually and move to $44,172 after completing police academy training – its staffing percentage is a distant third.
By contrast, Starkville, which starts officers at $46,620 and bumps their pay to $49,259 after academy, has only four vacancies on its 79-officer roster, according to City Clerk Lesa Hardin. In West Point, which pays $37,000 a year to certified officers who have finished academy training, the police department has 27 of its 29 budgeted positions filled, Chief Administrative Officer Randy Jones said.
For Mayor Keith Gaskin, CPD’s longstanding staffing shortage signals something else.
“Any time you have big turnover, there’s obviously a work environment issue,” Gaskin said during a Wednesday press conference at City Hall. “Exactly what that is, that’s what we’re trying to determine. Am I saying it’s the chief’s fault? No, I’m not. … The best thing to do is to admit it and try to fix it.”
This is especially true, Gaskin said, when the city has invested in stemming the problem. The city has invested in technology, specifically laptops for vehicles and 22 cameras for placement around the city. It has upgraded CPD’s fleet, uniforms and other equipment. Officers have gotten raises three straight years.
“When you do that, you need to see, and the taxpayers expect to see, an improvement in your performance,” Gaskin said. “… Why aren’t we maintaining these folks? … What’s missing?”
Daughtry told The Dispatch on Thursday he took umbrage with Gaskin’s take on CPD culture. The crime rate is down, Daughtry said, while he’s worked to be a visible leader in the community. His officers do a fine job, he said.
“My guys bust their butts,” Daughtry said. “The citizens I’m talking to are saying what a good job we’re doing.”
Success at SPD, WPPD
Speaking to The Dispatch Wednesday, Starkville Police Chief Mark Ballard said his department certainly isn’t immune to turnover and a dearth of qualified applicants.
But within the last year, particularly, “reevaluating departmental culture” has led to something of a turnaround.
“It’s been a good year,” Ballard said.
Oddly enough, SPD has taken a more selective approach to hiring officers – heavier background vetting that digs into an applicant’s finances and emotional stability issues that might otherwise be missed in a 15-minute interview.
“A lot of agencies, we see them make the mistake of in order to fill a position, they take a person, put them in a slot and hope for the best they are a good law enforcement officer,” Ballard said. “We’ve gotten really good at looking deeper into work ethic (and) emotional intelligence.”
That, in turn, has created a “supportive, accountable” culture that has made SPD officers the department’s best recruiters, making SPD more appealing and stabilizing turnover, Ballard said. Recruiting more women has helped too. SPD has 11 female officers on staff.
“Light begets light and iron sharpens iron,” Ballard said. “Good professionals recognize other organizations with good professionals. … A good police officer, with a good history, is very valuable … and they recognize that right now. And they will go to agencies where they feel they are supported and have a chance for advancement and development.”
West Point has hired more certified officers, of late, meaning they have already completed academy training, Police Chief Avery Cook said.
Still, money is a problem there, he said.
“It’s competitive now,” Cook said. “We do have pretty high turnover. Money is a factor.”
Higher pay, higher standards
Daughtry told the council Tuesday he had contacted local banks to provide young officers with financial literacy workshops and to help them with the steps toward owning a home in Columbus.
“That will be a good grassroots campaign,” he said. “If they purchase a home here, they are going to feel more rooted here.”
He mentioned take-home cars for all officers as a retention strategy, something CPD, SPD and WPPD officials said they are working toward for the same purpose.
Recruitment, Daughtry told The Dispatch Thursday, is a different issue.
Like Starkville, CPD turns applicants away for various reasons, either because they can’t pass the physical testing or clear a background check.
“We’ve had people, when you offer them a drug test, they won’t take it, or they’ll go ahead and tell you they won’t pass it,” Daughtry said.
Others simply realize after applying that police work isn’t for them.
“It takes a special person to do this job,” Daughtry said. “Not everybody can. … We’re not going to lower our standards to get our numbers up.”
But when it comes down to it, getting and keeping officers comes down to pay.
“The days of talking about how good our health insurance is are over,” Daughtry said. “In Columbus, I have the best health insurance I’ve ever had. These young people don’t care about that. They care about money.”
Pay, standards and accountability all must rise to bring more qualified people to the profession, Ballard said.
“Law enforcement should have training and expertise comparable to emergency room staffing, as well as (the) pay. … You’re going to have to pay professional salaries,” Ballard said.
“If you have bad policing, you’re going to write a check, whether you’re writing it for a pay raise or for liability,” he added, referring to local governments that fund law enforcement agencies. “There’s too much at stake. … You’ve got to have quality professionals.”
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 47 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
