Indianapolis Officer Shortage Looms Large

INDIANAPOLIS --

A shortage of police officers looms just a few days away for Indianapolis, and so does worry over how it will affect the city's crime rate and response times.

In order to keep enough police on the streets, the departments has had to pay overtime to hire its own officers back, 6News' Jack Rinehart reported.

The staffing problem is expected to be a difficult one to deal with and it is anticipated that it will only get worse next year, Rinehart reported.

On Jan. 1, the Indianapolis Metro Police Department will experience a mass exodus of officers. Seventy-one officers will retire at the end of the year.

Combine that number with the number of recruits on probation and in the academy, the department has a shortfall of more than 220 officers.

The department estimated that this year alone, residents of Indianapolis will lose the benefit of nearly 3,500 years of combined policing experience.

"We're short, and you look at the slates every single day -- the districts aren't being manned 100 percent. They can't," said Sgt. Bill Owensby, President of the Fraternal Order of Police.

IMPD plans to go on a hiring binge in an attempt to stem the tide. In 2008, the department plans to recruit as many as 160 new officers.

With those new hires, nearly 25 percent of the police force will have about one year of experience, Rinehart reported.