The most recent class of new police officers patrolled Tulsa streets on their own Monday, marking the end of several months of training.
With the new officers now in the field, officers from other divisions who worked patrols to temporarily fill the gaps can return to their original assignments.
"It's going to benefit field operations to have more officers to respond," Officer Jason Willingham said.
There are currently 743 Tulsa police officers, including the 39 rookies who have completed their training. Of the 39 officers, 31 were assigned to the field Sunday with the remaining eight to be assigned in the coming weeks, Willingham said.
The class began its training at the Police Academy in January and graduated in August. They then moved to field training for 16 weeks, working one-on-one with officers in the field, gradually taking over more of the responsibility.
Officer Ben Brandt started his second day Monday heading straight to calls. He was a police officer in Sand Springs for six years, so he knew the ropes when it came to police work. However, as with starting any new job, there is some apprehension.
"It's a little different not having a training officer with you," Brandt said.
Brandt has wanted to be a law enforcement officer for as long as he can remember, he said. And his sights have been set on Tulsa for some time.
"There is more of a cultural diversity in Tulsa, which I like," Brandt said. "I like dealing with people and talking to people."
He set out from Gilcrease Division, which covers the city's north side. One of his first calls Monday was to receive information from someone saying he had items stolen from his vehicle.
After that call, he went to check on a report from a woman who said her cellphone had just been stolen while other officers searched for the suspect. Both of those happened within two hours, which is another reason he enjoys police work: Every day is different.
The biggest challenge for him is learning the streets, the layout and the hot spots on his beat. It's a challenge, but he said he's well-prepared for the job.
After long months of training, Willingham said, the new officers are ready to get out on the street and work their calls as hard as they can.
"You have a young police officer that's starting his career out, he's going to be eager," Willingham said. "If they're not eager to be there and not eager to take calls, we've chosen the wrong person."
Due to retirements and regular attrition, the number of officers has continued to fall, putting more of a strain on those already in the field. In October 2008, the department had 824 sworn personnel. That number has dropped because of budget cuts and a two-year hiatus on police academies.
Officers from headquarters, detective and other divisions rotated in and out of 21 vacancies to ease that strain until the new officers could take over on their own.
In order to keep up with calls and keep what Willingham said was a safe staffing level, "that was the only course of action."
"There's not a whole lot more you can do," Willingham said. "Our primary responsibility is to respond to calls of service into citizens in the field."
Now that those officers are back in their normal assignments and there are more officers in the field, the department should be able to respond in a more timely and complete manner, Willingham said.
"But obviously the more detectives, the more officers you have in follow-up units, the better response you'll have," Willingham said.
Back in business
The Tulsa Police Department had 824 sworn personnel in October 2008. After attrition, budget cuts and two years without a police academy, that number has fallen to 743, including 39 rookie officers who completed their field training this week. However, the rookies won't have that title for long. A new 30-recruit class is set to begin in December, and another class is possible later in 2012.
Copyright 2011 - Tulsa World, Okla.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
