Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Over 30 Officers Have Quit So Far This Year

And the word around the pumps is there will be no more academies in 2011. The money has been allotted for police cars instead. If you think we are short now, just wait a few more months.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

We will have Po-1's training PO-1's, not to say that would be much of a change.

Anonymous said...

Add me to the list leaving if things don't improve soon. Started looking already...

Anonymous said...

"57" can you please save us? We need help! Can you make a few more stops after 10-42 time to raise money?

Anonymous said...

I really wonder what it would feel like to be robbed at gun point or even shot and 911 tells me that an officer's ETA is 1-2 hours. Or worse, EMS is tied up on accidents because someone needs insurance money. "Citizens" please start carrying a gun with you. There is not enough of us to go around to help!! I'll do what I can to catch them, when DKPD gives a lookout to APD. Otherwise, I'll never know it happened...cause I'm outta here 12-15-10.

Anonymous said...

I am leaving in 74 days...I will take the 20,000 dollar pay cut to get some peace of mind...As always "M outta here"

Gold Badge said...

Low Moral.....moral is just an umbrella term for a host of issues.....or a results of the other reasons people are leaving:
1. Decreasing take home pay as a result of
* Furloughs
* Increased pension contributions.......(doubled)
* Increased health insurance costs for less coverage.
2. Poor equipment ....
* cars averaging 150k miles,
* inadequate dispatch software,
* computers missing keys or with non-functioning touch screens.
3. Not enough officers to allow us to patrol effectively and safely
4. Loss of the "annual sick checks" for those who don't call out sick.
5. No cost of living or merit increases in YEARS.
6. Copiers/printers that are permanently jammed or broken.


People are leaving because these things drive down moral.

Anonymous said...

We have 30-40 leaving every year. This is a non-story. Come back when it's 60 leaving. More left when T-Bow was here.

Anonymous said...

19 year vet, im leaving as well. I have my app in with gwinnett. I'd rather just start over shagging calls again than put up with this crap.

Anonymous said...

Oh but we have hired 80 additional officers this year. They just forgot to mention all that we lost in the early out and the positions that were already vacant. Is it any mystery why crime is running rampant in DeKalb. I guess until it is one of the commissioner's homes it doesn't matter. What sad times we are serving in!

Anonymous said...

Anon 9:05 trust me if there was a crime at a commissioners house there would be AT LEAST one officer posted there 24/7 for a couple of months, no matter if it was the last officer that Dekalb had.

I normally would also agree that losing 34 officers in a year is a non-story. However, when this sort of thing happens when the economy is in the tank and jobs are hard to find makes it kind of a big deal. I also wonder if this number includes people who were fired? I hear that three were fired just last week.

Anonymous said...

Dekalb and DKPD motto is "If you don't like it, leave".

Anonymous said...

The county will be needing more money just expect TICKET QUOTAS coming soon to your precinct.

How do you motivate someone to write tickets. Its not like your arresting
bad guys.

It's not like this county is looking out for the officers.

Anonymous said...

34 may have quit, but how many left for the early retirement? There were a lot of people who had many years of valuable service left in them who retired because of the furloughs and working conditions. If you want the real picture, you need to look at how many people left in all.

Anonymous said...

East Precinct smells like a sewer pipe busted and the carpet is dirty, but hell I still have a job. I want my merit increase!

Anonymous said...

Heard Capt AJ was in Center Evening watch trying to get them to write more tickets "for three months" and then wait and see what would happen? You are a punk out AJ!

Anonymous said...

CAN WE GET A COPY OF THE LIST THAT RICHARD HAD AND POST ON THE BLOG!!

Turd Fergusson said...

This place is a joke. We have manpower, it is just misplaced. Get rid of the following: ICP teams, NET Teams (or whatever your precinct calls it), PAL and command staff Aids. PUT THEM ON THE ROAD TO HANDLE 911 CALLS! It's not rocket science people, it's getting back to the basics of policing. All these little special units and officers performing civilian duties are killing the manpower on the streets. If they get rid of these little teams and put a stop to alarm calls and private property accidents we would have a surplus of officers to handle business. THE COMMAND STAFF NEEDS TO WAKE UP!

Anonymous said...

I am hoping that the number of police leaving increases. I can no longer stand what the county is doing to my family. I worry that morale is making the job that much more dangerous. Crime is going up in Dekalb and all PD need to be one their toes to protect themselves and morale affects safety. My hope is that 2011 brings peace, safety and stability which means a new job in another county. Please be safe!

Anonymous said...

Standing order at my house:

If, God forbid, something happens to me, my wife will pull the watch list and determine where everyone was at the time of my demise.

She will SUE the county if (and I'm sure it will) it shows the county was negligent in the number officers deployed....in the number of officers in training or on vacation that day leaves me without back up....and if the Sgt.'s and Lt.'s were not backing because they were in the precinct doing all the DAMN Paperwork or supervising TOO MANY Officers.

The county is putting us at risk by sending us out without proper back up and supervision.

Anonymous said...

What yall need to do is get IN UNIFORM and all go down the Hosea Feed the Hungry event. The news media will be there in droves and they will see all the Dekalb Officers standing in line and eating the only turkey dinner they can afford anymore. When the reporter asks for an interview, do it, and tell them that "with all the pay cuts, furlough days, insurance and pension deductions, you cant afford to have thanksgiving anymore and this is a blessing because we are starving now!". It'll show how screwed up things have become for police officers to be standing in a food line because the county wont pay enough for even a Thanksgiving Day meal.
This aint all drama guys. A lot of the officers are in a very bad way now due to elected officials who are trying to "starve out" the police department in DeKalb.

Anonymous said...

I'm behind on my bills. Everything is shutting off on me and I dipping into my savings to make ends meet. I never took on more than I could handle, but with all these things going on with my paycheck, it seems like I did. I'm considering quiting and moving back North West.

Anonymous said...

where is the Chief and Director???? this is a damn shame

Anonymous said...

Do not be surprised to see us all working for the Sheriff's Office when all is said-and-done. At our rate of decay it will be the only way law enforcement can continue in Dekalb County.

I don't see the Sheriff's Office being a footstool for the CEO & BOC the way the PD is forced to be now.

Anonymous said...

You know what Mrs CEO and the BOC will do to offset the decreases in the number of officers?
They will continue to divide the precincts in two like they did at south to give the illusion that there are more police out there because there will be more police stations

The catch....(there always is one)....the number of police won't be on the rise...the number of police will continue to decrease if they keep treating us the way they been treating us.

Smoke and Mirrors baby....

That's what the people that run the county are good at doing...They certainly aren't good at managing resources properly

"The budget and the economy" is always the standard answer from the BOC and Mrs CEO when asked why compensation, benefits, and substandard equipment are the continuing trend for the police departments budget

The fact of the matter is that there are other "budgets" in the county that they just do not want to cut into....like their own for example...to pay us

ONE OF THE PRIMARY FUNCTIONS OF GOVT IS TO PROTECT ITS PEOPLE

When its your job to run a government, protecting your people and their property should be a priority... if it isn't then honest, hard working people with money and businesses will not want to move or stay in a place where they don't feel safe.......the seeds for a crime ridden war zone get planted....take a look at the crime rate in the county....its already well underway

But the current "royalty" (since that is how they act) running the county will be long gone once its too late and the county is beyond saving

I say get all of the remaining good citizens out of the county....build a wall around the county's boundaries and make DeKalb County a prison county for the state...we could also spin off a movie called ...."Escape from DeKalb"

Stay safe and stay alive out there....nothing out on DeKalb's streets are worth any of our lives

-Anon 1118

Anonymous said...

When your supervisors are leaving in droves there's a HUGE problem. I've routinely seen them get treated and talked to like shit at east.

Anonymous said...

I was seriously thinking about leaving my current agency for DKPD. Iam in awe that this is happening there.Im on the outside looking in. It appears as if the power is being shifted or will be shifted to the Sheriff's Office. The Sheriff has the power of the state charter as the 'High Constable'. He can assign his deputies to patrol the county and still maintain his other assigned responsibilities. I assume he has a different budget from DKPD. Maybe there are things that are not being told truthfully considering this shift of power, just my guess.

Anonymous said...

The trend has already started out west. Just as civil suits began for private property not providing adequate security the commissioners will be sued for the results of negligent staffing. It is already on the books but doubt they are literate enough to comprehend it.

Anonymous said...

"Word around the pumps there will be no 2011 Academy"

This depresses me. I have been calling background & Recruiting on a weekly basis - I keep getting advised to call back at a later time.

I really want to serve this county - but If there is no 2011 academy I will be enlisting in the military instead.

I truly hope this isn't so.
From what I understand - you fine men and women can use the man power that enthusiastic young blood like me can offer!