PINE BLUFF — The Pine Bluff Police Department will have officers work 12-hour shifts beginning Sunday, a plan expected to allow for more community policing and days off each month for officers.
The 12-hour shifts, an increase from the current 10-hour shifts, will affect about 80 of the department’s 139 officers and allow them to work seven days in a two week period rather than eight.
The officers affected by the change will be in the patrol division, said Lt. Bob Rawlinson, a spokesman for the department.
It also means more officers on the streets per shift, which will allow police to talk with business owners and members of the community about crime and preventive measures, Rawlinson said.
Newly hired Police Chief Brenda Davis-Jones was unavailable for comment Friday, but said after she was hired last month that she wants the department to do more community policing.
Patrol officer David Ellington, president of Pine Bluff ’s Fraternal Order of Police, said the organization met Thursday night to discuss the new change but made no decisions on whether they support it.
“We realize there’s not a whole lot we can do about it,” he said.
He said a 12-hour shift has its pros and cons. Obviously, he said, having additional time off is a good thing, but working longer hours during the day can have its drawbacks, especially in a high call-volume community such as Pine Bluff.
“It’s nothing when I was on shift to go to 20 to 30 calls a night,” he said. “Most of the calls are B.S. Some of them we never should have to go to but we still have to go.”
The Fayetteville Police Department decided to switch from 10-hour shifts to 12-hour shifts about a year ago as a cost-efficiency measure, said Cpl. Rick Crisman, a spokesman for the Fayetteville Police Department.
The Springdale Police Department, however, worked 12-hour shifts for a yearabout 10 years ago, then switched to 10-hour shifts for about five years, and now they are at eight-hour shifts.
Capt. Richard Farris of the Springdale Police Department said the older police officers didn’t like the 12-hour shifts because it forced them to work some weekends.
He said the younger officers, though, loved them because of the additional time off.
Farris said while 12-hour shifts provide more community coverage than 10-hour shifts, the eight-hour shifts provide the most community coverage and are the best for residents.
The 12-hour shift will allow the Pine Bluff Police Department to have twice asmany officers per shift - one lieutenant, two sergeants and 12 patrol officers, according to a PowerPoint presentation provided by Rawlinson.
Patrol officers will never work more than three consecutive days or two weekends in a row, according to the presentation.
Moreover, officers will be able to take a week off by using only two vacation days, the document showed.
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 07/26/2010