By Blake Leschber
The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.
BATON ROUGE — Metro Council will hold a public hearing Wednesday to discuss the establishment of a program that would hire former law enforcement personnel to perform administrative and operational duties.
Police Chief TJ Morse and Human Resources Director LaToya Pierson proposed the Police Support Specialist Program. Morse said an estimated 20 to 25 specialists could be hired, with the number potentially changing due to the police department’s needs.
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The specialists would not have any arresting or ticket-writing power, Morse said. Their work would include reviewing cold cases and body camera footage, assisting with public records requests, operating the drone program, grant writing, working at the emergency operations center and potentially helping respond to minor traffic crashes.
“I think this is a creative way to fill vacancies that we have a very huge need to fill currently,” said council member Jennifer Racca of District 12 . “I also think it is very innovative in the sense that we are not filling these positions with people that deplete resources or put an additional strain on our benefits programs.”
Specialists would be paid $40 an hour to work a maximum of 29 hours a week. Morse said this is comparable to other programs — in particular the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office.
“( Livingston ) pays $40-45 an hour, so we want to make sure we’re competitive and comparable,” Morse said.
Employees in the program must have at least 20 years of sworn law enforcement experience, a minimum of 30 days of separation from City-Parish employment, and approval from Human Resources and the parish Attorney’s Office.
“My appreciation was, with 20 years of law enforcement, it’s more likely that you work in several different capacities within policing,” District 3 Metro Council member Rowdy Gaudet said. “You bring that experience into this position, and you’re able to understand the systems and move things through based on your years of knowledge and experience.”
Morse agreed that having experience helps on the job. He added that some officers retire around 55, so the 20-year requirement can help retain those officers while ensuring that younger ones don’t try to move to the role.
“We don’t want to make it so early that if we set it at only five years of law enforcement experience, a five-year officer isn’t making $40 an hour. We don’t want them leaving the job they’re doing to then go work in this role that’s getting paid more,” Morse said.
Specialists will not be allowed to work more than 29 hours per week and will not receive benefits afforded to City-Parish employees.
The Mayor-President’s Office said the program would allow current officers to be on the streets more.
“These retired officers will also bring years of valuable experience and can serve as mentors to our younger officers,” Mayor-President Sid Edwards said in a statement to The Advocate. “There’s a lot of excitement within BRPD about this program, and we believe it’s going to be a great success.”
A vote on the program could follow the public hearing Wednesday.
Part of a larger plan?
The program is a part of what Gaudet calls a “comprehensive public safety approach” that City-Parish officials, Metro Council members and BRPD have been working toward.
In April, Metro Council approved salary increases for BRPD officers, going from $40,000 to $58,000 annually with the opportunity to rise to $65,000 after the first year of service.
Additionally, BRPD has been facing a staffing shortage of more than 100 officers, but Gaudet said he believes this program is a step in the right direction to giving officers more time to work with the public.
“I think this is a way that BRPD is working to address capacity shortage, personnel shortage and provide some of that back-of-the-house administrative support so that our officers are more free to be in the community,” Gaudet said.
Morse said the program will likely be “a wash or saving” money, particularly since it will hire part-time specialists with no insurance or benefits, rather than using officers on overtime or hiring full-time employees.
Gaudet and Racco agreed that not having to pay benefits and insurance will help the city fiscally. As Metro Council continues to look for budget cuts, Racco said this is one way that can help ensure that financial resources in the city aren’t reduced.
“We’ve experienced several budgetary concerns over the past couple of years,” Racco said. “We look for savings in several different places. I think finding these officers as a resource and limiting their hours allows us to be fiscally responsible with these new hires and eliminate some potential large costs that would continue to deplete our current resources.”
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