Cape, Jackson face difficulties in police staffing

In two neighboring towns, two police chiefs face staffing problems, but the similarity ends at the city limits.

Cape Girardeau police chief Steve Strong just lost two experienced officers and said he is frustrated that he can't hire experienced officers or retain qualified people because of a lack of funding. Jackson police chief James Humphreys needs to add a DARE officer but doesn't have enough money to train one. A fund-raising effort is being organized to fix that problem.

Last week, Strong lost patrolman P.R. Kesterson, who was the handler for drug dog Tobin, and patrolman Randy Zimmerman, who is taking a job in the private sector. Kesterson has a new job with the police department in Washington, Mo., Strong said, that will be worth $8,000 to him in additional salary and $5,500 in additional insurance benefits.

Strong said he can understand why Kesterson would be attracted by that kind of salary.

"If he were to be promoted to lieutenant tomorrow, he would not be making that much money," he said. "This is getting sad. Since September our turnover rate has been 33 percent. In the 28 years I've been here I've never seen it this bad."

The costs are not limited to the loss of two officers. The dog Kesterson worked with is being retrained to adapt to another handler, who is spending his time getting used to the dog.

Strong said he has 13 unfilled positions in addition to two recent resignations. The vacancies are the result of three new officers being trained both academically and in the field and therefore not officially working. Some are on leave of absence or out due to injury, and some are on light duty and can't be sent out in the field.

"For the first time," he said, "I have to look on a day-to-day basis to find out how many people I actually can put in a car and answer a call alone."

While he has good people working for him, Strong said, they haven't developed the skill that comes with experience.

"It wasn't that long ago that our patrol division front line had an average experience of 10 years with this department," he said. "Over 50 percent of them now haven't got three years with this department, and many don't have three years experience anywhere. I am trading experience for no experience. I want the majority of my people to have some experience. Some things you can't learn in school."

Strong laments that he seems to be spending more than $10,000 per officer to train them to eventually go to work for other communities. Smaller communities, such as Dexter and Ste. Genevieve, are drawing good candidates away from Cape Girardeau because they are paying more. There was a time, he said, when the opposite was true.

"Now it's the experienced people who are leaving," he said.

Raising money for DARE

In contrast to Cape Girardeau, Jackson's problem can be solved with a fund raiser. Cheryl Ellis, who works with the Southeast Missourian Jr. and is a parent of a child in the Jackson School District, is heading up an effort to raise enough money to help train a new DARE officer and provide some of the essentials used in teaching the class.

Jackson's DARE officer, Darrell Sievers, has been deployed with his National Guard unit to duty in Europe and is expected to be gone at least another year. Because of Sievers' absence, Jackson schools did not have DARE classes this year, and Humphreys said he doesn't want the children to be without DARE another year.

Ellis doesn't want to see that either.

"I have a son going into the fourth grade, and I don't want him not to have a DARE officer," she said. "Many other parents of kids who read the Jr. will feel the same way as I do."

It will take from $800 to $1,000 to train another officer in DARE instruction, Humphreys said. The Missouri State Highway Patrol used to provide the training, but state budget cuts have made that impossible.

He said he put the word out among his officers to see who would be interested in taking the position while Sievers is away and being an auxiliary DARE officer when he returns. He will choose one in the next few weeks. He hopes to be able to send someone to DARE training in November so Jackson public and parochial schools can have DARE classes next spring.

"My main concern is that the schools don't get left out," Humphreys said. "It's such an important part of their education; I don't want the schools and children to have to go without DARE again because of something that is out of our control."

Class materials, T-shirts and DARE diplomas are extra costs that usually are underwritten by community sponsors. Those are not in the police department's budget.

Ellis, who has raised enough money to buy two drug-detecting dogs for the Cape Girardeau Police Department, is now turning her attention to raising money for Jackson's DARE officer training. A special name for the effort will be announced in the next issue of the Southeast Missourian Jr.

Donations can be sent to Southeast Missourian Jr., 3301 Broadway, Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63702. Checks should be made payable to the City of Jackson, with "DARE donation" written in the memo line at the bottom of the check.

lredeffer@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160