Gahanna Division of Police faces recruitment challenges, seeks 'heart behind the badge'

The Gahanna Division of Police is having difficulties recruiting personnel as the department looks to hire officers and dispatchers who will make a positive difference in the community.

Deputy Chief Jeff Lawless said the political and social climates have contributed to agencies having problems with recruiting overall, especially in major metropolitan cities.

“However, we continue to enjoy fantastic support from the Gahanna community,” he said.

Carrin Wester, city communications manager, said recruitment has become a huge issue with the police division that is authorized for 60 sworn officers and 10 dispatchers. As of Dec 9. 15, the division had 54 sworn officers and 10 dispatchers, with four new officers scheduled to be sworn in Dec. 20.

She said staffing shortages are being covered with overtime or schedule adjustments.

The assignment of overtime and certain scheduling provisions are performed in accordance with applicable terms of the collective-bargaining agreements for both police officers and dispatchers, Wester said.

The overtime cost for the sworn staff year to date is $264,308 for 5,785.5 hours, and the amount for dispatchers is $85,673 for 3,316 hours, she said.

According to the police division's website, “The mission of the Gahanna Division of Police is to serve and protect our diverse community by building partnerships in order to provide professional law enforcement services that safeguard the lives, rights, and property of all.”

Working as a sworn officer or dispatcher for the division of police is a purpose-driven life that can provide a career full of opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others, Lawless said.

“Every position has its ups and downs, but you will leave work on some days knowing you made a difference,” he said.

“As an organization, we are looking for those who will put their heart behind the badge, treat everyone with dignity and respect and serve as unwavering guardians of this great community while fairly and impartially enforcing the law,” police Chief Jeff Spence said.

The department just finished a traditional recruitment cycle followed by a lateral-entry officer-recruitment cycle, Wester said.

She said lateral-entry officers, in most cases, do not have to attend or graduate from the police academy and that expedites the training/transition process by at least six months. Such applicants already have credentials as a law-enforcement officer.

Gahanna has made efforts to attract a diverse candidate pool, with targeted recruiting advertisements on minority websites and radio stations, Lawless said.

In addition, he said, minority female staff members have participated in direct face-to-face recruitment and advertising efforts.

Lawless said Gahanna also has accelerated, aggressive timelines to make sure the city doesn’t lose qualified candidates to other municipalities.

“Gahanna is a supportive and responsive community, especially attentive to those in need, community neighborhoods, schools, crime issues and other quality-of-life issues that make it a great place to live, work and visit,” he said. “The division of police has always found the community very responsive and supportive of our community outreach and policing efforts. With the support of our city leaders, our personnel have the best equipment and training available to assist them in being successful in meeting community expectations.”

Wester said the division has been short-staffed for well over a decade.

"The funding provided by the passage of Issue 12 has provided the dollars necessary for increases in our staffing levels," she said. "Unfortunately, retirements, loss due to long-term or career-ending injury and resignations in light of the negative view of the policing profession have all created deficits in our staffing.

"This is combined with an ever-increasing demand on a much smaller qualified applicant pool. All agencies in Franklin County and, frankly, the entire nation are struggling with similar staffing shortages and lack of qualified applicants."

mkuhlman@thisweeknews.com

@ThisWeekMarla

This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Gahanna Division of Police faces recruitment challenges