- The East Lansing Police Department has 46 of their 51 positions filled.
- Interim Chief Jennifer Brown says getting those remaining positions filled is a priority in 2025.
- Video shows Brown explaining the importance of full staffing and how the department plans to fill the positions.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
I'm your East Lansing Neighborhood Reporter, Colin Jankowski. According to a survey from the University of Michigan, nearly three-quarters (72%) of local police departments in Michigan say they're having trouble recruiting new staff, and about 40% say they have significant trouble.
The East Lansing Police Department is experiencing its own staffing shortage, so I spoke with officials about how they plan to address it.
"It's really important in 2025 that we get our numbers up," Interim Chief Jennifer Brown said.
East Lansing Police Interim Chief Jennifer Brown tells me fully staffed for the ELPD means having 51 officers working for the department.
After some recent graduates from the Mid-Michigan Police Academy joined the staff, they're sitting at 46.
While that means the department is about 90% staffed heading into 2025, Brown says operating without full staffing can still impact the department.
"One of the things I've focused on for the last year is the health and wellness of our police officers, and it's greatly impacted by the deficiency we have in terms of our staffing," Brown said.
Brown tells me it means more overtime for current officers and asking everyone to do more since they're short-staffed.
So, what is the department doing to get the last few spots filled?
"We are always actively recruiting. We have a recruitment and retention team here at the police department that is made of supervisors and sworn officers," she said. "They are always reaching out to people in the community to try to actively recruit brand new officers. We're all over social media."
Brown says one way they try to keep the officers have now is by offering longevity pay.
The ELPD is not alone in its staffing shortages. According to the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards, in 2001, there were more than 23,000 officers statewide in Michigan. But in 2023, that number had dropped to 18,585.
I wanted to check in with other departments in my neighborhood, and they say they're fortunate to be near full staffing.
Captain Bart Crane with the Meridian Township Police Department tells me the department has 40 of its 42 positions filled. Williamston Police Chief Jeff Weiss says his department is expected to be fully staffed by April.
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