Crossville Police Department operating with a full staff for the first time since Jessie Brooks became Chief of Police.
Brooks said with the large call volume in Crossville, having enough officers to cover a shift is imperative. He said he attributes the achievement to the hard work of the department and the city itself striving to hire and retain good employees.
“I just never could stay full, the longest period I had was maybe a week,” Brooks said. “So we just worked and worked and worked to try to build our force up.”
Brooks said having a full department allows for more proactive work rather than reactive. He said more people patrolling the streets means less potential for crime or other incidents.
Brooks said that law enforcement agencies across the nation have seen similar trends of short staffing. He said he attributes that to a mixture of the pay, the job itself, and the lack of people going into the field. Brooks said a career in law enforcement is not as attractive as it once was.
“And we did have our animal control officer announce his intent to retire, but we already have several good applicants for the position,” Brooks said. “So I don’t think that position will be vacant very long and we’ll get it filled quickly.”
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