Due to the Fairbanks Police staff shortage, the department has hired four additional officers to strengthen its personnel. One officer from North Carolina will start on December 1st, and another will attend the Public Safety Academy in January, according to Police Chief Ron Dupee.
Two policemen from Tennessee will begin work early in 2025. Even with these fresh hires, the department currently employs 31 people out of the 39 allocated. Addressing incidents that resulted in widespread mistrust, Chief Dupee emphasized a nationwide trend of declining interest in policing since 2020.
He further stated that the department faced difficulty filling some openings when they got a hundred applicants earlier. Changes to Alaska’s retirement system have also affected recruitment. Law enforcement jobs have become less appealing after the state switched from a Defined Benefit Retirement plan to a Defined Contribution plan. “Where we used to have a 20-year retirement for law enforcement, we don’t have that anymore,” stated Dupee.
Experienced officers leave more quickly than replacements can be trained, contributing to the department’s turnover. Training takes at least four months for Lateral officers and eight months for inexperienced candidates. Due to the Fairbanks police recruitment issue, the department has raised wages, implemented a life insurance policy, and given recruits a $20,000 incentive and a $60,000 bonus for lateral hires.
The deputy chief, Chief Dupee, and the captain respond to urgent calls from 8 a.m. until noon, “It’s definitely not the service that we want to provide for the community, but that’s where we’re at right now with the staffing levels that we have,” he said. He explained that efforts to maintain service standards and quality are in place despite the Fairbanks police staff shortage.
This news article was originally published by Alaska´s News Source.
