Last week came news that Dallas was experiencing a record number of cops leaving the police department for retirement or better paying jobs. Is the same thing happening here in Houston?
Ray Hunt with the Houston Police Officers Union tells KTRH they saw more people leaving HPD last year than usual.
“Nearly every one of those departures was because of the pension changes. But, that will not continue since the new changes took place,” Hunt said, adding that 200 more HPD officers left the department last year than what they normally experience.
In Fort Bend County, Sheriff Troy Nehls says they aren’t experiencing any of those issues.
“We are 802 strong. Our retention rates are over 90%. Our staffing levels are over 96%. We don’t have any problems,” Nehls stated.
So what is the impact of a 'cop shortage?' Captain Bryan Carlisle with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office says your safety is at stake.
“If officers are not available to respond to a call, that’s not good for any of us,” Carlisle stated.
And he says it puts an increased workload on the officers that stay in their jobs.
“That means it makes it difficult to solve cases in a timely fashion,” Carlisle said.