Fayetteville officers set for 12-hour shifts

Department trying new tack to fill patrols

— Fayetteville police officers will feel the effects of the economy next week when those on patrol start working 12-hour shifts.

Departmental overtime expenses have contributed about $200,000 to the city's budget deficit, and there is no money for hiring new officers, Capt. Mike Reynolds said. The department's solution is to lengthen patrol officers' workdays starting Sept. 7, thereby increasing the number of patrolmen per shift from eight to 12 or 14 and making it easier for the department to meet its internal requirement to have eight officers on patrol at all times, he said.

The department has 16 officers that can't work, either because of injury or military or police academy leave, so somebody is brought in on overtime when an officer calls in sick, Reynolds said.

The change doesn't include other units, such as bicycle and motorcycle patrols or criminal investigation.

Department administrators decided to try something new instead of returning to eight-hour shifts from the current 10-hour shifts, Reynolds said. Fayetteville will be the only department in Northwest Arkansas running 12-hour shifts, though they aren't the first to try it.

The changes will mean longer workdays, but also about 80more days off a year, Reynolds said.

Springdale police tried the "12s" for a year, starting in 1999, said Lt. Richard Farris, patrol supervisor.

Farris said the department tried 12-hour shifts to increase the number of officers on the street and to boost the morale of newer officers who wouldn't otherwise have weekends off.

"It wasn't as popular as you might think," Farris said.

REST IS KEY

Encouraging officers to use their off time wisely is one of the biggest challenges to running 12-hour shifts, said Thomas Aveni, researcher and executive director of the Police Policy Studies Council, based in Spofford, N.H.

"Most agencies have had pretty good experiences with it," Aveni said. "It's all going to depend on the lifestyle of [an] individual officer. That's really the problem. Some guys burn the candle at both ends."

Fayetteville officers will not be scheduled to work more than three days in a row, and one of those days is expected to be an eight-hour shift.

Aveni said working three to four 12-hour shifts in succession won't have any detrimental effects on performance if the officers get enough sleep. Before switching to 12-hour shifts, he said, it is important for administrators to discuss what they expect of officers, such as whether they can work a second job on their days off.

Planning court appearances is another important step to a successful transition to 12-hour shifts, Aveni said. An officer may not get enough rest if he appears in court prior to going on shift, he said.

Aveni said it also is important to make sure officers don't end up extending their shifts. Departments need contingencies for emergency situations that may crop up at the end of a shift, he said

Working on strenuous projects before going on a 12-hour shift can hurt an officer's performance, Aveni said. Conversely, having three days off to do chores around the house can help their family life, he said.

Extended shifts have long been favored for emergency personnel, though police don't operate the same way other agencies do, Aveni said. Unlike firefighters, who typically work 24-hour shifts, officers napping on duty would be considered in dereliction of duty, he said.

Consistency can help officers, Aveni said. Regular schedules can make a big difference when running 12-hour shifts.

"If approached intelligently, it doesn't have to be problematic," Aveni said.

MONITORING SAFETY

Fayetteville will try 12-hour shifts for six months, but it could be a permanent change, Reynolds said.

Reynolds said a final meeting is planned before the change to try to poke holes in the plan. Administrators are concerned about how the change will affect performance and officer safety, which will be tracked by comparing statistics, he said.

The number of accidents involving officers will be monitored, as will resident complaints, Reynolds said. Much of the burden for monitoring will be placed on shift supervisors, he said.

Reynolds said that the switch should enable supervisors to have a better relationship with their officers because they will always work together. In the current 10-hour shift configuration, sergeants are responsible for a larger number of officers, who also rotate.

Patrol officers will be divided into four platoons working two shifts, Reynolds said. Each platoon will have opposite schedules of one eight-hour shift and six 12-hour shifts over two weeks, he said.

One drawback to the system is the loss of the overlap that is provided with three 10-hour shifts, Reynolds said. To compensate for that and to allow for shift briefings, each shift will have two officers come in early.

Reynolds said the two early officers will be on the street before the shift change and will pick up any last-minute calls that might otherwise keep an officer on the clock longer than 12 hours.

The two early officers may be the same ones working their eight hour shifts, Reynolds said.

STICKING WITH EIGHT

Whether or not the 12-hour shifts work for Fayetteville, other area departments aren't expecting to follow suit.

Farris said that if given the opportunity, many Springdale officers would prefer going back to 10-hour shifts from eight-hour shifts. The 10-hour breakdown requires the most manpower to maintain the same number of officers on the street.

Running three 10-hour shifts means staffing for a 30-hour day, Farris said. It's more efficient to staff for a 24-hour day, which is done with either two 12-hour shifts or three eight-hour shifts.

Bentonville runs 10-hour shifts and Chief James Allen, while supportive of Fayetteville, said he has no desire to try 12-hour shifts.

Allen said there are too many potential problems with running 12-hour shifts. It is too easy for a last-minute call to turn into a 13-or 14-hour shift, he said.

"Eight hours is the normal workday for a reason," Allen said.

Arkansas, Pages 9, 14 on 08/31/2009

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