Local police agencies aren’t growing at the same pace as the county’s population.
The Greenwood Police Department and Johnson County Sheriff’s Office are the furthest behind based on federal standards that suggest a certain number of officers based on a community’s population. Johnson County’s population is up nearly 16% to more than 161,000 residents, according to recently released census data for 2020.
But local law enforcement officials say few agencies meet the recommended standard, and while they could always use more officers, they’re doing the best they can with what they’ve got.
By the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) standard of 2.4 officers per 1,000 residents, Greenwood should have about 153 officers. The county should have about 119. Neither do.
Greenwood police has 67 officers, and the sheriff’s office has 53. Both have reserve officers they can call in if needed; Greenwood has two and the sheriff’s office has 25.
The sheriff’s office has a full staff, based on what the county has budgeted for, Sheriff Duane Burgess said. Greenwood police plans to hire four officers this fall, bringing its total to 71, which is what the city has budgeted for, Chief James Ison said.
Franklin and Bargersville police departments are also behind, based on the FBI’s recommendation, but to a lesser extent.
The Bargersville Police Department has 15 full-time officers, including three administrative officers who routinely work in the field, Chief Todd Bertram said. The FBI standard suggests Bargersville should have about 22 officers.
The Franklin Police Department has 53 full-time officers, including some administrative officers who routinely work in the field, Chief Kirby Cochran said. The FBI standard suggests Franklin should have about 61 officers.
All four leaders say the FBI standards are too high for what is needed to enforce the laws in their coverage areas. The standard is a guidepost for what an area would need if there were a higher volume of crime than what is seen in Johnson County, they said.
For example, most cities Greenwood’s size or smaller have about 1.7 officers per 1,000 residents, Ison said.
“You’ll be hard-pressed to find a city that will reach those standards,” Ison said.
Greenwood trying to catch up
Still, Ison does want to add officers.
Right now, technology investments and data-driven policing are being used to maximize the staff the department has, he said.
“The more officers you have, the more visibility and deterrence you have,” Ison said. “With what we have, we maximize our staff through the use of technology. We use statistics and analysis to put officers where they are needed.”
Ison plans to ask the Greenwood City Council to fund three to five new officers per year until the department reaches the “high 90s,” he said. That is approximately what is needed to enforce laws among the city’s permanent residents, and those who flock to local attractions such as the Greenwood Park Mall and Freedom Springs Aquatic Park.
Increasing police staff was not a priority for previous administrations, but the current city council and Mayor Mark Myers have made it one. In fact, more than a dozen officers have been added to the department in the past nine years, Ison said.
When he joined the department in 2001, there were 52 officers. By 2008, when Myers took office, only six had been added, he said.
“I am very pleased with the progress we have made. We went many years without adding positions. … Even though we are still behind where we should be, we are doing our best to catch up,” Ison said.
Sheriff focusing on jail expansionÂ
With the new wing of the Johnson County jail poised to open in the coming weeks, Burgess is more focused on adequately staffing the facility than adding deputies to the streets.
The Johnson County Council provided funding for 10 more correction officers in the 2021 budget, and Burgess is working to hire seven more this fall, he said.
Burgess has asked the county council to hire 10 more correction officers next year. That request is still pending approval.
As for deputies, the staffing level has been the same for years, and Burgess believes it is adequate to cover the populated Center Grove-area and rural areas of the county, he said.
“We haven’t had any line-item, new merit deputies for years. We are able to keep up with what we have to do with what we have,” Burgess said. “Right now that’s the right number — what we have — but we monitor that constantly.”
If deputies get busy, city and town police departments step up to help and reserve officers can be called in, he said.
“We all come together as one because we know we need to be there for each other,” Burgess said.
Bargersville waiting for new tax dollars
Bargersville’s barrier to hiring more police officers is mainly budgetary, Bertram said.
With more than 5,500 new homes in the last 10 years, Bargersville is one of the fastest-growing communities in Indiana. But tax dollars lag a year behind and ensure police staffing and other needs for the growing town are also a year behind, he said.
“You get the census numbers but that doesn’t mean you have received the tax money for that yet,” Bertram said.
Eventually, he wants to reach a staffing level where at least three officers are on patrol each shift. To accomplish that, the department would need add six officers for a total of 18. Right now, there are sometimes three officers per shift, but there are more commonly two per shift. When staffing is short, Bertram and the chief deputy also patrol and respond to calls, he said.
“Staffing needs are being met but it is a daily challenge,” Bertram said.
How much the town pays its officers is also an issue. The base salary of $53,724 is enough to attract rookie police officers, but it isn’t enough to pull experienced officers from other departments, he said.
Franklin prioritizing raises over positions
Franklin police’s priority is raising wages for existing and prospective employees, Cochran said.
Cochran is asking the Franklin City Council to pay each police officer at least $60,000, which would be an increase of $3,450 annually.
Though that would still be more than $5,000 less than what Greenwood officers make — the highest-paid officers in the county — it would help with recruitment, he said.
Cochran does want to add staff down the road, but said the salary increase should come first, and asking for both a salary increase and more employees would have been too much to ask for one budget cycle.
“As the (number of) rooftops grow, we hope that the city council will be supportive to add two or four per year for the next couple of years. We don’t need 61 officers yet. We still have good response times and we have a couple of cars per call,” he said.
Cochran’s goal is nine officers per shift. That level of staffing would give the department more flexibility to handle time-consuming incidents as the call volume continues to rise with the population, he said.
Staffing shortages affecting all agencies
Every law enforcement agency in the county is having trouble attracting and retaining officers.
Morale among existing officers is low because there seems to be less support for police officers and less desire from the public to choose a career in law enforcement, police leaders said.
Local departments are making efforts to reach youth through Central Nine Career Center, area colleges, social media and other media, but still have a low number of applications, they said.
Each leader has seen a decline in applications in recent years. For example, Bargersville recently received 18 applicants for two open jobs. A few years ago, receiving more than 100 applications for open positions was common, Bertram said.
They’re also competing with the private sector for staff. When officers can make more money working a safer job, they often choose the other job, he said.
Experienced officers are also retiring earlier than expected for better pay, which is creating unexpected openings.
The coronavirus pandemic also slowed down the hiring process, as the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy shut down multiple times due to COVID-19 outbreaks. Department-level testing and interviews were slower to progress due to gathering restrictions.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”By the numbers” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Here is a look at police staffing in Johnson County:
Greenwood
2020 population: 63,830
Current staff: 67, two reserves
FBI standard: 153.2
Johnson County
2020 population: Roughly 49,909
Current staff: 55, 25 reserves
FBI standard: 119.6
Franklin
2020 population: 25,313
Current staff: 53
FBI standard: 60.7
Bargersville
2020 population: 9,560
Current staff: 15
FBI standard: 22.9
Source: U.S. Census Bureau; local police departments
[sc:pullout-text-end]
