CAMAS — What retains Camas Police Chief Tina Jones awake at night time? There are some things, truly, however the “retirement cliff” dealing with the division is prime of thoughts.
With 43 % of the police division’s present sworn employees — 13 officers — eligible for retirement inside the subsequent 5 years, Jones wonders if her division can deal with that a lot turnover.
“We are not prepared for mass retirements,” Jones mentioned informed the town council at its Monday assembly.
“There is a huge lead time, with background, hiring, training, getting through the academy … all of that adds up,” Jones mentioned of hiring officers.
Jones, who succeeded longtime chief Mitch Lackey after his retirement, has led the division since July 2023.
The police division additionally has important staffing shortages, particularly in the case of supervisory positions, Jones mentioned.
The trade customary is 2 cops per thousand residents, Jones mentioned. Metropolis leaders mentioned a number of years in the past that they want to have 1.5 officers per thousand, however Camas’ staffing ranges haven’t stored tempo with both of these objectives.
To attain its objective of 1.5 officers per thousand residents, the town would want to rent no less than 10 extra cops.
“We have a really low crime rate, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have calls for service in our city,” Jones mentioned, detailing a few of the calls her officers and detectives have responded to up to now yr. These embrace 24 calls that required the division’s automated exterior defibrillators; roughly 3,500 site visitors stops in Camas within the first 9 months of 2024, and 21 dying investigations.
“This year has been rough,” Jones mentioned, referring to the excessive variety of dying investigations her employees have taken on that included youngsters. “Child death investigations, industrial accidents, suicides, overdoses … but we take every death investigation seriously, and our detectives do a phenomenal job.”
Jones mentioned the division has not been in a position to meet response time objectives for calls on the town’s westside.
“There are a lot of reasons for that,” Jones mentioned. “It’s not because our team is not being diligent. We … have more area to cover, more traffic, more pedestrians. To get safely to a call takes time. This stresses my team out. It stresses me out. And I know it stresses the community out. When people call 911, they need us to be there.”
Jones mentioned the division doesn’t have sufficient supervisors.
There are occasions, particularly in the midst of the night time, when Camas cops are working with out a direct supervisor accessible, Jones mentioned, including “some days we have 14 hours in a day where we don’t have a supervisor.”
To treatment the division’s staffing challenges, Jones requested Camas Mayor Steve Hogan to incorporate funding for 2 lieutenants, two patrol sergeants, one administrative supervisor and two cops in his proposed 2025-26 finances.
“I know it’s a tight budget. And I appreciate the mayor’s focus on trying to achieve these positions we need,” she mentioned.
Police funding proposition
With a view to fund new police positions, Hogan plans to go to voters.
On Monday, the council voted to place a proposition on the Feb. 11 poll that can ask Camas voters to approve a 4 % utility tax on the town’s water, sewer, stormwater and strong waste utilities. The tax would elevate $1 million a yr to fund new police positions and related autos and gear.
“I’ve lived in this community a very long time, and the community has changed and policing has changed,” Councilor Marilyn Boerke mentioned Monday. “I want to give my support for your request.”
Councilwoman Leslie Lewallen — who voted no on the entire mayor’s income requests Monday night time — informed Jones that, whereas she “totally support(s) law enforcement,” she was involved in regards to the creation of a brand new utility tax.
“I think public safety is the top concern for our community,” Lewallen mentioned. “My concern … is that, unlike property taxes that are capped statutorily, that the utility tax will go up and up and up.”
Jones mentioned she understood the priority, however famous that, “as cities grow, we have to find ways to invest in demands for services.”