ALBANY, N.Y. — City officials are proposing the creation of 10 special patrol officer positions staffed by retired police officers to help address a long-standing staffing shortage within the Albany Police Department, the Times Union reported.
The Common Council is being asked to approve a transfer of funds to support the positions, which would pay between $62,350 and $89,230 annually. By comparison, first-year officers in the department earn slightly over $65,000 before overtime.
Department spokesperson Megan Craft said retired officers hired for the roles would be required to obtain a state waiver to collect a pension while receiving a salary. Those waivers are typically valid for one to two years but can be renewed.
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The new roles would focus on duties such as front desk operations, community outreach and youth engagement, Craft said.
The department currently has around 70 vacant positions. At times, that number has reached as high as 90, leading to mandatory overtime and frequent back-to-back shifts, which union leaders say has contributed to burnout and increased turnover among younger officers.
“This is one of a number of initiatives the Albany Police Department is undertaking to address the nationwide challenge of police recruitment and retention,” said Alyson Baker, deputy chief of staff to Mayor Kathy Sheehan. “This will free up sworn APD officers to be deployed more effectively throughout the city.”
The positions would fall under the classification of peace officers, not full police officers.
Mike Delano, president of the patrol officers’ union, said while negotiations with the city are ongoing, the union may challenge the move if it results in outsourcing work traditionally performed by current officers.
Mayor Sheehan said the city has been considering the use of retired officers as a temporary measure to stabilize staffing levels.
“Hopefully, as recruiting picks up and if we’re able to solve this problem with sworn officers, then that’s what we’ll do,” she said.
Would you come out of retirement to help improve staffing?
Explain why you would or would not accept a front desk operations, community outreach or youth engagement assignment to continue serving your community, while also collecting your pension.
Police1 readers respond
- For many years police departments out west and down south like Florida have utilized Community Services Officers or Public Safety Aides. They do desk functions, perform calls for services like take reports, help manage minor traffic collisions, do parking tickets, etc. They don’t respond to 911 calls or crimes in progress, etc. These tasks free up sworn armed officers for the high risk duties. These positions also help provide a pipeline for recruitment for the younger generation or is a good retirement job for those still wishing to serve their community. They usually aren’t armed so training costs would be significantly less. Burlington, Vermont launched this program years ago and the Community Service Officers are not armed but usually carry a police radio, OC spray for self protection and receive training in rudimentary PL, CPL and MH laws, and training in some defensive tactics, community relations, and first aid, CPR and defibrillators. The city can pay these community service oriented “public safety officers” less then what a sworn officer would require and much less training is needed. Their role though must be clearly defined if the position is to be a benefit to the city’s residents and aid in getting sworn offer staffing to where it needs to be.
- I’ve been retired now for 15 months, after a police career of 36 years with my last agency. I would accept an assignment with “Community Outreach” depending on further information: Would I receive a take-home department vehicle? Would I have my arrest powers re-established? What type of hours/duty schedule would come with this assignment? This can be a very good idea to help resolve staffing issues.
- Been retired for 14 years. Yes, I would come back to a department that I served for over 23 years. They should have done this years ago to help with sworn officer staffing issues. Ten special officers is a good start, but it doesn’t come close to offsetting a 70-90 officer staffing shortage. If successful, the special officer numbers could increase and be a great stopgap until recruitment numbers increase. Since COVID and police reform, the numbers have steadily dropped with generationally less and less interest in law enforcement. I do not see recruitment bouncing back anytime soon; if at all. This is a very smart idea.
- This a good idea since many retired officers end up working after leaving the job. You are utilizing their training, knowledge and experience that can be a great benefit to the rank in file and the organization. Yes, I believe that the recruitment age should be raised, even removed. Many people would like to serve their communities, but departmental age limits stop them from applying. If you are able to pass the required tests to enter into the job, you should be allowed to do the job. With the staffing shortage that is affecting every law enforcement agency in America, agencies and governments should think out of the box and look at ways to build up their ranks. This is a good start.
- I’ve been retired for 10 years. I would do it on a part-time basis.
- Yes, I would come out of retirement to work in a desk operation or community outreach position.
- I would not come out of retirement to work the desk. Why retire if you are just going to keep working?
