Lexington Public Safety Commissioner Ken Armstrong said there are varying issues when it comes to recruitment and retention in police, fire, and corrections. Armstrong told the Council’s Planning and Public Safety Committee last week that includes a reduced workforce, COVID-19 factors, and social unrest.
Council Member Amanda Mays Bledsoe worried smaller numbers in police training could mean fewer officers available to provide certain services. “When we call for extra surveillance, when we call because there’s people speeding and they’re not following red lights or speeding through neighborhoods. There’s lot of larcenies into cars, they’re breaking into cars. Extra patrols in those areas. That’s what goes first,” said Mays Bledsoe.
Armstrong said the emphasis on meeting patrol responsibilities will continue. He admitted lower numbers can sometimes affect the allocation of staff to special units in the Police Division.
At of the end of April, vacancies in fire, corrections, and police were 31, 57, and 41 respectively. Armstrong said media reports of police graduation ceremonies often refer to new officers. “Those 25 new are actually for a vast majority, replacements, not actual new positions. The size of the division has not grown, we have just replaced the people that have left during that time frame,” explained Armstrong.
When it comes to increasing diversity in public safety, Armstrong noted the needle doesn’t move much unless there are increasing minorities in a number of classes. A factor when it comes to retention, according to Armstrong, is the number of selected trainees who drop out of what is a lengthy training period. The public safety commissioner added there are exit interviews to better understand why trainees fail to complete training.
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