By Jeff West

SDN Staff Writer

At the last Snyder city council meeting Police Chief Steve Warren informed the council that his department will soon be short four officers and a search for replacements is underway, but few qualified candidates are applying.

The chief was asked if the loss of five officers in six months indicated a problem in the department. He said definitely not.

“In each of these cases, the men had a chance at a better opportunity for themselves and their families,” he said.

Corporal Trey Wilson is the latest officer to turn in his resignation, effective May 11, to go into private enterprise. Another officer left April 7 to take a job selling insurance, with a chance to make more money than police officers, Warren noted.

Of the other departures, one earned his degree and went into computer programming, another took a job with the Texas Department of Public Safety and one last year went back into private industry <\!m> making twice what he made in law enforcement.

“Each of these men left (or will leave) in good standing and in their letters of resignation, none listed any problems with the department,” Warren said. “We threw them all a party with cake and good wishes.”

He said in the past several officers had qualified to join the DPS and some have even left to become police chiefs in other communities.

Warren said the city did a survey “a couple of years ago” and boosted salaries to reflect what similar cities were paying, but there are other issues. A beginning officer starts out grossing $2,225 a month. That pay reflects a 1.4 percent cost of living increase for this year.

“City employees also have to pay over $530 a month for insurance for their families,” he said.

During a recent police chief conference, Warren said he found that a number of small to mid-size cities are having difficulty recruiting and retaining officers.

There are other factors as to why officers might leave. Police departments are no different than other employers in some respects as well, according to Warren.

“Statistics show that the average employee changes jobs about six times in their lifetime,” he said.

He said that that some people who are attracted to law enforcement are “movers” who like to change jobs fairly often for a variety of reasons.

The city’s location also plays a factor, he said, noting people from larger cities or greener areas often don’t want to come to West Texas, especially for less money than they can make in the larger cities.

While the city has taken a number of applications for the police department, most have been disqualified.

“The city’s personnel department is handling the applications, but we’ve had people apply who weren’t certified, who’ve had criminal backgrounds or aren’t suited for our department for a variety of reasons,” he said.

The chief said the department will consider “all appropriate applicants” for openings. Applicants must be certified police officers, but can be fresh from an academy or have some experience with another department.

New-hires will spend several weeks riding with a veteran officer learning the city and making sure they have the basics of report taking and other important skills.

“These things come in cycles, sometimes it seems that as the weather warms up people want to move around,” Warren said.