In the numbers presented by Greensboro Police Chief Brian James at the City Council work session on Monday, Dec. 7 is an ongoing issue with fully staffing the Greensboro Police Department (GPD).
The violent crime and homicide rate is soaring and, according to the figures on recruitment from James, the number of police officers is dropping.
James said that currently the GPD had 17 candidates in the Police Academy and 17 officers who had completed the academy and are in field training.
As far as fully trained sworn officers, James said the GPD had 612 of the authorized and budgeted 674.
James said that the GPD and other law enforcement agencies were having more difficulty recruiting new officers.
James said they used to have 600 or 700 applicants for a Police Academy class, but that number has dropped to 300 or 400. He said that pool wasn’t large enough to fill a class with the 30 qualified police officer candidates they needed.
The GPD loses about 50 to 60 officers a year mostly through retirement, but also resignations, transfers, injuries, illness and death.
But that means to stay even the police have to hire about 50 or 60 new officers a year. Some will transfer into the GPD, but most go through the GPD training process, which in total takes about 11 months. So between hiring a recruit and getting that new officer out on patrol, it takes almost a year.
Greensboro also has a unique problem. The Greensboro Police Academy has a sterling reputation, which means other departments like to hire police officers Greensboro has trained.
The result is that with only 17 officers in the academy and 17 in field training, the number of fully trained officers on the street is almost certainly going to drop before it starts going back up, since it takes 50 or 60 new hires a year just for the Police Department to stay even.
City councilmembers said that they wanted to offer the Police Department immediate assistance.
However, City Council action like turning down a $250,000 federal grant in January, a Justice Department grant that the city had been accepting without comment for years, doesn’t send the message that this City Council supports the Police Department.
Chief- why would anyone want to work for this department? Council is anti- police, officers not being backed by supervisors, officers unable to effectively due their job with the threat of being fired, reprimanded or suspended. Chief-take control of your department-demand the council to let you do your job.
I believe we have come to a point were the sheriff and city should become one. The Sheriff is elected and does not have to answer to our ignorant, non police educated, anti law enforcement, worried politically correct city council.
Remember me-“Can you do your job effectively without city council interference”?
Chief James is doing a good job with what he has to work with. He could do a great job if the City Council would let him. The number of vacancies and lack of qualified applicants is in large part due to the council’s actions and the like minded thugs throughout Greensboro. I can understand turning down grants that require a local match if the match isn’t budgeted, but not those that do not require a match. The City Council has no one to blame for the uptick in violent crime but themselves. The “community” will never improve until the morals and values within the “community” improve. How long do you think the new grocery store set to open up on the corner of Freeman Mill & Florida St. will last before it gets messed up or closes after milking us for $700k in incentives to open? How long will it be open before someone is killed there? You could build Disneyland in that same location and within 2 to 4 years it will look like a wasteland from hell. Why? Well it isn’t for lack of funds. Its clearly the morals and values of the “community.” Take back your communities, stop embracing thugs and hiding them. Apparently “no snitching” isn’t working well!
Why would anyone want to be a police officer in Greensboro when you have a Mayor and City Council that would never have your back.
You know after reading all this stuff of malfeasance, unfeasance, and nofeasance every day; I get a yucky feeling about things of which I have no control. Gives me a bad attitude, ruins my day, and makes me a cynic.
In an effort to read articles from the LEFT, I went on YouTube and unsubscribed from my account. Almost immediately, I get a 12-part article called: “RESIST”. This article is produced by YouTube (Google). One of the narrators of the first part is one of the founders of BLM – a Marxist-Socialist organization formed to destroy our Republic. Incidentally, over 70% of donations to BLM goes to the founders, and their “consultants”. So they are enriching themselves at the supporters expense. Many corporations such as Google, Amazon, etc. support this terrorist organization.
Corporate America is not stupid. So why are they doing this? The only reason I can think of is to cement the alliance of Big Business and Big Government, so Big Brother can run us all into the ground, while enriching themselves with Power and Money.
Solution, anyone? I don’t have (a legal) one.
Why would anyone want to work as a police officer today? You get no respect, the pay is not sufficient, you put your life on the line each and every day and you get no support from local government. We do not have to “defund” the department. Attrition will take care of that. Maybe we can get council member Johnson to volunteer some of her “community helpers” to fill in. This entire state of affairs concerning the lack of support for the police by some of the citizens, the courts, and government officials is so distressing. Unfortunately, these people will not recognize the problem until, the police department is so understaffed and underfunded that they have to turn off the lights at the department, park their cars and go home. Wake up people, you will reap what you sow.
Is there any doubt who is running this City????? In our current group of States and cities all Democratic are having a problem because they In acting to defund police and MESS up our cities.They are a stupid group of politicians.And yes it has come to Guilford County and especially Greensboro.If you are voting age ,please vote for anyone besides a Democrat.
What will Greensboro look like in ten years when all these Democrats from up north settle in and demand that we do things like they use to do….just imagine can you.
I am not a Greensboro resident. I live in the country where idiotic city officials have less control over my life. I do however shop in Greensboro, get medical attention there and have many friends in Greensboro.
I assure you that I spend as little time as possible in the city. A city where looters and rioters are excused, police are treated as enemies and lawbreakers are coddled can not expect candidates for police work to be lining up at their door.
The law of the jungle (survival of the fittest, every man for himself, get them before they get you) is becoming the law of Greensboro. The city will survive and will someday return to a sane policy of government. But evidently not yet!
I am concerned about the officers who are honest and professional in the work they do as law enforcement in the City of Greensboro. The situation of attrition and lack of applicants is not only one of funding and attitude towards police officers currently but has to do with leadership in the Department and City. Having lived in this area for over 20 years and understanding the history of those in charge right now it’s not difficult to grasp what the problems are, just like it’s not too hard to see what’s wrong with the County Sheriff’s Department.
These problems aren’t likely to be solved soon or easily given the people who are currently in charge. It’s also unlikely the Sheriff’s Department will combine with the GPD given their territorial issues. Those of you thinking you’re safe because you live in the “country” should be aware that eventually, G’boro will annex everything in the County for tax purposes unless our location is too inconvenient and costs them too much money to make that attractive for them.