Florida law enforcement agencies struggle with attrition within ranks - WPTV.com

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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — I went to Port Saint Lucie recently to talk to police about manpower and the mood within the ranks. This is a year in which police have faced much-heightened scrutiny since the murder of George Floyd. Calls to “defund the police” and ongoing COVID-19 worries also are backdrops for discussions everywhere.

Officer Dionis Veras is undeterred. He came to Port Saint Lucie after serving four years with the New York City Police Department. He loves his patrol beat and said of his new community, “I think it’s important to get out there. I go down the street. They say ‘I love you, we support you, we thank you’ (for his service.)”

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Officer Veras is one of 280 sworn officers in Port Saint Lucie and the department is confident it can maintain and grow the ranks.

Assistant Police Chief Richard Del Toro said, “You see the national narrative with the defund the police movement, anti-police sentiment. We really don’t see that in Port Saint Lucie.”

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Watch Michael Williams' interview with Assistant Police Chief Richard Del Toro on To the Point below:

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Del Toro said his department is committed to engagement with an increasingly diverse community and said recruits have to know that as they come in the door.

“This is going to be a partnership, hopefully for 30 years, and I don’t want anyone to come to the Port Saint Lucie Police Department and find out after day one," Del Toro added. ‘I didn’t know customer service was important, I didn’t know community policing was important.’”

In Palm Beach County, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw oversees 1600 plus sworn personnel.

“It’s not so bad in Palm Beach County. We haven’t had defunding issues," he said. In fact, the county commission has been very supportive.”

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Bradshaw is confident he can hold the manpower line, but recruiting is more vital than ever in today’s world.

“In 2019 we had pretty close to 700 applicants when we went out and did recruiting," Bradshaw added."Right now, in the last 11 months, we are at about maybe 300 at the most.”

The jail that the sheriff oversees has faced more acute pressures, part a result of COVID-19 worries.

“We are down about 60 people, and when that happened we had to go to 12-hour shifts,” said the sheriff.

An incoming recruit class aims to bolster corrections personnel but it takes time. Statewide, Governor DeSantis is pushing for $5000 recruiting bonuses to attract officers and deputies to Florida.

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Bigger departments can hope to compete on pay and benefits, but local PBA union President John Kazanjian said smaller departments are struggling. And him adding money is not the only problem.

“You can put all the money to it, but that is not going to fix it," Kazanjian said. "We have to educate the public, alright, can’t be having to defund the police, (where) we badmouth the police.”

Police leaders I talked to said their agencies need community support while acknowledging it comes with the constant need for internal accountability.

“The majority of our officers out here, day in and day out, are doing a good job, putting their lives on the line, really wanting to serve the community the right way," Del Toro said. "And when we don’t get it right, listen we have to own it, learn from it, and move on.”

Officer Veras offers a final perspective, one of a young officer who grew up in what he calls a tough neighborhood in the Bronx. He told me, “At the end of the day, no matter what is going on around the world, there is always going to be someone calling 911, and asking for help. And I always wanted to be that individual who came and helped them.”

source: https://www.wptv.com/news/region-c-palm-beach-county/west-palm-beach/florida-law-enforcement-agencies-struggle-with-attrition-within-ranks

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