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Why do we have so many officers in Udall?
According
to state law part-time/reserves police officers cannot work over 1000
hours a year, or 2.4 eight
hour shifts a week. For the
department to insure the safety of the community at all times, the
department must be prepared for times that we are short handed,
including loosing an officer due to employment, training, vacation, sick
leave, etc. When
the current chief took office in 2001 he along with the Kinsley Police
Department called 52 cities here in Kansas. What they found was the average for
cities with populations between 464 and 2500 is 9
officers. Which includes an average of 4 Full-time, 2 Paid
part-time, and 3 none paid reserves. The
department is currently running on 3
Full-time, 1 Paid part-time, and 4 none paid reserves. Udall is a
little different then most small towns its size. We are located
rather close to one of the largest cities in Kansas and receive an
average of 7000 vehicles a day through the intersections of K15 &
Cowley 3. The
department wants to give its citizens the best service we can, and
protect our officers by giving them fast assistance with back up when
needed during dangerous situations. It
is also important for the department to retain our state certified
officers. Since this average has been put into effect, the
department has only lost two officers in the past 5 years.
Before this the department went through 18 officers in two years.
© Udall Police Department |
