Concerned with the recent spate of break-ins and thefts around town, residents are wondering: Where are the police?
Haines Borough Manager David Sosa said several citizens have asked whether the police department provides 24-hour coverage by on-duty officers. It doesn’t, he said.
“There is not currently 24-hour coverage, and this is tied to personnel availability. We are always looking at ways to provide the best service and will ensure that we focus our coverage on times we determine our officers are most needed,” Sosa said.
High employee turnover paired with out-of-town training spreads the force thin, Sosa said.
Assembly member George Campbell also inquired about police coverage. “I asked because I have had citizen complaints. Some people have called and haven’t gotten any police response,” he said.
Police chief Bill Musser said the department provided 24-hour coverage until former chief Gary Lowe resigned in 2013. “Staffing was part of the issue at that time, as the chief was gone and so was one officer. That left a staff of three to cover the townsite,” Musser said.
Officers are still scheduled on standby, meaning that they are expected to be available and able to respond when called out by dispatchers.
Musser said the department had 62 callouts from standby in 2014, or an average of 1.2 calls per week. “Some of these call outs were also for back-up of the on-duty officer for a domestic disturbance call or similar high-risk call,” Musser said.
The department also provides “flexible shift coverage” into the hours after 2 a.m., “depending on scheduled events and the types of calls we are seeing,” Musser said.
Musser said coverage last spring and summer usually ran through 4 a.m., with officers on standby from 4 to 8 a.m. In October, Musser said standby coverage started after midnight for most weekdays and after 2 a.m. on Fridays and the weekend.
“I have also personally worked the graveyard shift and augmented night patrol a number of times, with particular attention to the periods the bars were open, on holidays, and during the vehicle break-ins,” Musser said.
“Given my observations of the night shift, most winter weekdays and weekends tend to see the bars short of patrons after 2 a.m., and they often shut down by 2 a.m. or shortly thereafter. Additionally, the issue of alcohol-related crimes is not readily supported by calls for service after midnight.”
Musser said that prior to vehicle break-ins last fall, he was placing emphasis on “proactive policing” between 8 p.m. and midnight “to help promote and establish better contact by the members of the department with members of the community.”
“The reactive nature of policing came back with the vehicle break-ins and burglaries occurring. Shift coverage was varied to extend coverage without establishing a pattern, but we still saw break-ins and burglaries,” Musser said.
Musser said he is reviewing department statistics for trends. “I am hoping the data will be sufficient to establish a spatial relationship that ties calls for service to times of the day and day of the week,” he said.
Former police chief Greg Goodman, who served 17 years on the force and 10 as chief, said he always supported and maintained 24-hour coverage. “I was always for it. When we had five full-time officers, we could cover 24/7 the majority of the time,” Goodman said.
Sick leave, vacation time and turnover would occasionally require standby time, he said.
Full-time coverage is essentially a money and morale issue, Goodman said. Working in law enforcement for 30 years, Goodman said he saw lots of officer burnout and strain from working extended shifts.
“They actually need six people down there to take a little of the stress off the officers that are there,” Goodman said.
Goodman received a grant in the mid-2000s for a school resource officer, who was also able to pick up some responsibilities of regular officers. “That took a lot of the strain off the other officers,” he said.
The possibility of getting another officer isn’t looking good, especially with Gov. Bill Walker’s recent decision to leave rural jail funding out of his budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
Haines received $397,000 last year in rural jail funding from the state. Those funds support payroll, vehicle expenses, utilities and other functions of the police department.
“If we don’t receive this funding, as with other items throughout the budget, we will have some choices to make,” Sosa said.