Lake Hallie (WQOW) - A local police department is hoping a new full-time
position will help balance out the workload.
Currently there are seven full-time officers with the Lake Hallie Police Department. Because of that, sometimes there is only one officer working during
busy periods. Starting on Sunday, the department will be adding an additional
full-time member.
"We'll be able to address the needs of the public much more than
we've been able to address them in the previous three and a half years that I've
been here," said Cal Smokowicz, Lake Hallie's Police Chief.
The
Lake Hallie Police Department says a new full-time position is badly needed.
"We were reaching a point that we were getting multiple calls that
required an immediate police response, whether it be a fight, vehicle in
traffic, threatening behavior, or some type of other traffic obstruction.
Somebody had to respond, and you just couldn't do it," Smokowicz said.
Under
the current structure, only one officer is staffed at any given time. That
person does everything; from answering calls to patrolling the streets.
When the new officer and shift begin on Sunday, there will be two
officers here during peak hours to help split the workload.
"They'll be able to come into situations, attack it up front.
While you're trying to gain statements from one person, the other officer can
be asking questions from another, because they'll be working as a team," said
Smokowicz.
The
department has been looking to add to its staff since Lake Hallie was
incorporated in 2003.
"You add in the population, the commercial development, the
potential for more commercial development. And we're sandwiched between two
larger cities. There's a lot of factors that are demanding services from a
police agency," Smokowicz said.
A
part-time officer was promoted to full time in order to fill the new position.
