PINE BLUFF — With more than $1 million in stimulus money coming in, the Pine Bluff Police Department expects to have seven new officers on the streets - but it will take about a year.
One part of getting new officers ready for patrol will come quickly.
The Pine Bluff Police Department already has a bank of applicants and the $1,013,656 federal grant is available to the city through electronic access, said Lt. Bob Rawlinson of the Pine Bluff Police Department.
Officer candidates that get a passing score on an exam will start their training as soon as their physical tests, psychological evaluations and background checks clear.
That may take four to five months.
A four-week recruiting class prepares the new officers to go to the police academy, he said. They then spend 12 weeks at either Black River Technical College or the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training academy. Once they've graduated, officers complete a 12-week field training program.
Only then are they released for solo patrols.
"It takes a full year to be certified, and you have to go through all this stuff in the meantime," Rawlinson said. "It's quite a lengthy process and a lot of training."
The federal money will help Pine Bluff, which has been working hard to fight crime.
The Pine Bluff department's budget accommodates 143 officers, but only 139 positions are filled, Rawlinson said.
The seven additional officers will bring the force to 150.
The money will cover the salaries and benefits of the new officers for three years. The starting salary for a police officer is $30,846, and $32,489 after the first year.
To satisfy the terms of the grant, the City Council had to agree to pay the salaries and benefits of the new officers for at least one additional budget cycle, he said.
"We don't anticipate having to lay anyone off after those four years," Rawlinson said.
While the department prepares for the additional patrol officers, the city continues to fight crime in other ways, including a Citizen Police Academy and a nine-week course for residents who want to know what police officers do and why they do it.
"It's a total awareness program," said Sgt. Richard Davies of the Pine Bluff Police Department and president of the Arkansas Safe Schools Association. "There's no secret police stuff."
Davies just finished his 27th session of the program. Residents heard from police officers about their rights and police practices. They visited a juvenile detention center, 911 dispatch office and a correctional facility. They even had an opportunity to practice correct handgun firing techniques.
The purpose of the program is to familiarize residents with officers and teach them what to look out for.
The department is also trying other ways to include the community in crime fighting and prevention programs, he said. There are 23 active neighborhood patrols in the city of about 55,000.
Pine Bluff has more bike patrols and neighborhood enforcement teams.
The crime rate in Pine Bluff has dropped in the past six months, and much of the credit goes to the community, Rawlinson said.
Department statistics show a drop in crime overall - including murder, rape, assault and burglary - through July 31. The total number of crimes - 3,613 - represents about a 5 percent decrease from the same period in 2008.
"It takes the community as well as the police department working together to do these types of things," he said. "There's not one specific thing that's caused crime to decrease like this. It's the combination of everyone working together. We just hope that we will be able to continue this trend."
Having more officers can only help keep those numbers down, he added.
"We couldn't have these additional officers without that federal grant money," Rawlinson said. "It's going to allow us to be proactive instead of reactive to crime."
Arkansas, Pages 7, 9 on 08/10/2009