But union leaders said that good intentions notwithstanding, county officers continue to retire from the 1,250-member force at a faster rate than the county can recruit and hire new ones.
In August, for instance, 12 officers retired. And even though four officers who graduated from the police academy last week were assigned to the Clinton district, five officers from the same station have announced plans to leave the department before year's end.
Chief Melvin C. High wants more officers in the 5th Police District.
(File Photo)
|
|
"Officers are leaving for all sorts of reasons," Bell said. "In seven years, 500 officers will be eligible to retire. We have to find a way to keep them on board."
The department's personnel shortage was brought into sharp focus last week when the County Council voted to allow residential construction only if the police and fire departments meet standards for staffing and emergency response times. The measure, passed 7 to 0, is intended to ensure that the county's growth does not compromise public safety.
Under the law, officers must be able to respond within an average of 25 minutes to non-emergency calls and an average of 10 minutes to emergency calls. But residents complain repeatedly about long waits, often much longer than an hour.
The department's patrol officers -- roughly 40 percent of the force -- answer about 2,000 calls for service every day. Union leaders predict that the number will increase as houses are built and more people move to the county. Builders have looked increasingly to Prince George's, especially its rural tier, as available land in such places as Montgomery County grows scarce.
Last year, 3.3 percent of the county's growth occurred in that area, up from 1.3 percent in 1998. Although the percentages might seem paltry, they reflect a marked increase in construction activity. In 2003, 69 houses were completed in the rural tier, according to the county's head of development review. Last month, the county received 133 housing permit applications for that area.
"We were once a very sleepy area, but we aren't any longer," said Edgar C. Evans Jr., 76, past president of the North Clinton Community Watch Patrol, which oversees several neighborhoods. "We have hundreds of more houses and lots more crime and a police force that has been falling rapidly in numbers."
Staff writer Ovetta Wiggins contributed to this report.
