Overtime hours on downward trend, says police chief

An effort by city police to reduce overtime hours appears to be having a marked effect, says Chief Bob Keetch.

He presented a month-by-month breakdown of overtime hours due to staff shortage during the Sault Ste. Marie Police Services Board meeting Thursday.

Upon taking the position last June, Keetch said he noticed a huge amount of police overtime being spent and approached the Police Services Board with suggestions on how to reduce those hours.

Overtime hours were being used to fill the service’s minimum manpower requirement, wherein city police are contractually required to have at least four two-man patrol cars on the road during evening shifts between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Those overtime hours have been used to cover two officers currently on long-term leave and not expected to return to active duty, as well as holiday coverage, said Keetch.

“Essentially those salary dollars were built into the budget but we weren’t spending those dollars,” he said.

Thursday to Saturday they are required to staff five two-man cars during those times.

The largest peak of the year in regards to overtime costs due to staff shortage was in May, at $37,361.

As a result of an internal staff review of resources, two non-uniformed officers were redeployed to uniformed duty.

“We identified two officer positions within the organization and we felt we could transfer those officers back to uniform to perform uniformed activities and not affect the overall delivery within the organization,” said Keetch.

In addition, last fall two experienced officers were hired from outside the police service but are paid a salary at level with new-hires.

“We were able to hire individuals that had attained the first-class status within their policing services, so there is a level of experience associated with that and we hire them at fourth-class. So there is a decreased cost to the community and yet they are experienced, so you can immediately deploy them,” said Keetch.

The strategy appears to be working.

“We track it over time and we are seeing a downward trend over time associated with meeting those contractual obligations,” he said.

Indeed, that trend showed a reduction every month in overtime costs due to staff shortages, with a low of just $951 for November.

Keetch said although hiring of experienced officers is essential when trying to overcome a staff shortage, in the future he would like to see the hiring of new recruits.

“I think we need to provide opportunities for our local young adults who have an interest in policing. Hiring experienced officers allowed us to immediately address that decreased available resources within uniform. Certainly it’s my intention to hire experienced officers and invest in our youth as well. There’s a balance there.”

Police will continue to to review overtimeusage and report back to the board, said Keetch.

During the meeting Chief Keetch announced the promotions of Staff Sergeant Monique Rollin to the rank of inspector and Sergeant Chris Chiappetta to the rank of Staff Sergeant, effective January 13 and 15, respectively.

(FILE PHOTO: Sault Ste. Marie Police Chief Bob Keetch, seen June 20, 2015. Kenneth Armstrong/SooToday)