Purse strings are tight, but Brunswick Police Chief Tobe Green is looking for ways to change a pattern of officer turnover at the city department.
Brunswick Human Resources records show the police department has hired, and in some cases trained, 94 police officers since Jan. 1, 2006, only 43 of whom are still on the force today.
That means 51 officers have been fired or left the department for greener pastures, at a rate of nearly nine officers a year.
Chief Green, who has been with the department for nearly 30 years and chief since April, said Friday he was surprised to hear 51 officers have left the department, but only because he expected the number to be larger.
"This department has always had a high turnover," he said.
That has changed some recently, but Green has a theory for that.
"I will say in the last two years, due to the economy, it has slowed down, but I think that's because there aren't jobs out there to get," he said.
The Brunswick department wrestles with the same staffing issues that many small police departments have, Green said. Young new officers sign on with the force, get trained, and as soon as they become certified police officers, they immediately start looking for higher paying jobs and larger departments.
Nearly a decade ago, the city started having new officers sign an agreement saying they would stay with the department for at least two years, but that agreement goes only so far, Green said.
"It's been in effect for the last eight years, but that doesn't stop an officer from leaving. If they really want to go, they go," Green said.
The contracts have slowed the turnover rate some, Green said. As a part of the agreement, an agency that hires an officer away from the city must reimburse Brunswick for training, so it's not a total loss.
"We are reimbursed for the training from the department they go to. Most departments frown on it because they don't want to pay the money," Green said.
But there is no reimbursing the time spent training officers to become familiar with the city and to get to know its residents, Green said.
Ultimately, money is the issue.
"The only thing that's going to keep some of these officers happy is more pay, but I have been trying to open up some of these new units to offer them duties and opportunities that they may want to do more than just being on patrol," Green said.
Starting units like the Force 23 Squad, which consists of several officers who do specialized, concentrated patrols in high crime areas, is one of the ways Green tries to benefit the community and offer officers a path to advance.
There's also the upcoming start of the All Purpose Squad, which will include officers who will use multiple modes of transportation, including boats, Segways and bicycles.
A 2007 needs assessment of the Brunswick department made by the International Association of Chiefs of Police cited low morale and inconsistent discipline as sources of many problems at the department. Green said he has been working to remedy both of those issues.
"I have been tightening up on discipline at the department, and most officers appreciate more discipline," Green said. "With discipline, it really boils down to holding officers accountable for their actions, and that even includes things like officers showing up to work on time."
Brunswick Mayor Bryan Thompson said many things have improved at the department since Green took over following the firing of chief Edna Johnson in June 2010.
"Morale has improved tremendously under Police Chief Tobe Green, and that certainly helps," Thompson said.
Thompson acknowledged, however, that police officers cannot survive on morale alone.
"Money is important to employees in any job in any position," Thompson said.
Though the city is facing a tight budget, commissioners have fought to protect the police department.
"We have not had to go through and cut departments like many communities have. We have fought very hard not to cut positions," Thompson said.
"We will do everything we can, as soon as we can, to address salaries and pay with all of our employees, but looking at the upcoming fiscal year, I'm not sure how much luck we will have with that immediately."
Copyright 2012 - The Brunswick News, Ga.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
