Rehiring LMPD Officers

As a general citizen of Louisville who has read / seen local media reports about personnel shortages and tried to keep somewhat up-to-date via this web site about some other internal problems with the agency, I just wonder about the possible success of this new program.

It seems odd to think that officers who retired, transferred to other agencies, or quit after the merger would be willing to return, especially if they cannot have their choice of times to work or places to work. As the mayor said about hiring the current chief when questioned about the cheif's pay, "if you want experience, you must be willing to pay for it." If these former officers will not have any better pay or benefits, better working positions or times to work, why would they come back?

Just some two-cents from a life-long Louisville resident. Comments and criticisms are certainly welcomed.

I think it is great to re-hire these officers. BUT from a realistic view, why not let these officers become the officers in the community relations / school officers or other areas that we have people and let those officers get back to the street and police like they were hired to do.

...and WHY would anyone WANT to come back to LMPD??? If they didn't get sued or sent to Internal Affairs enough before, their chances are MUCH better now!!

Man you hit the nail right on the head. When we can't get enough people to apply they change the rules and make it even harder. Yessiree Bob, my degree in Art History made me a better Police Officer. I didn't learn about the real world until I left college, joined the military and then got real job when I got our of the Army. I know many really good Officers that wouldn't be here today if that requirement was in force back when they were hired. Like a previos person posted. You can be in management somewhere else with proven skills, yet somebody with 60 hours of college that has never held down a real job or had any real responsibility is deemed more wualified???? BS

I am all for education, I plan on going back and sitting on my duff in a cool college classromm when I retire and not have to worry about anything. Too bad kids applying today can't say that.

i can't wait to get away from LMPD more or less come back, 3 more years and run away run away far away i hope the city changes soon because it will grow untill nothing but thugs and crimanails are left in the city and the city looks like a war zone. spencer county here i come.

i think we should get extra pay for working in a hostile enviroment

I would love to be a police officer with LMPD. Matter of fact I know alot of people who would to. Problem is I don't "qualify". How many other quality people that would be excellent officers don't "qualify". I don't "qualify" because I didn't join the army or any other military service. I don't "qualify" because I didn't go to college. I can't get a job with any other department because they all want experience. So I don't "qualify" as a lateral. What does it take to be a police officer? I can understand these qualities if used for selection, not "qualifications" or requirements. What is college gonna teach you about being a police officer? Is it gonna teach oyu how to treat someone with respect? Is it gonna teach how to make a life or death call during a situation in a matter of seconds? I am gonna have to go back to college at age 27 just so I can become a police officer.

I can see where they would wanna re-hire some former officers for specific duties. Most, however, probally would not wanna come back. Use the former officers that would come back and you would take back and use in the training department or somewhere else where they would benefit the department. Don't have them go back out on the streets. Use the officers that are in these "cush" positions and put them on the streets and use the former officers for low-profile positions.

A friend of mine scored higher than some recruits currently in this new class, but since he didn't have the 2 yrs college, he got the boot. I guess supervising people and running a business smoothly and profitably doesn't matter if you don't have any college.

This is a great idea, and I agree that retired officers shouldn't get specialty units in which younger police officers are NEEDED. The retired officers have already had their chance at these jobs. However who could be better qualified to serve in the training unit than someone who has been there. There are other positions that a young officer shouldn't want and should go to the retired officers, ie., school resource officer, helicopter observer, river patrol units, property room, and the list goes on. You won't get a thirty year retired officer to go back to late or mid shifts, but think of the other places they could be used and let the young officers get out on the streets where they belong. This would save the community thousands of dollars and give the less experienced officers more of a chance to really police.

I agree with you on the new requirements BUT you need to understand that we at LMPD had a shortage of people taking the test prior to the these comming into effect. What is really keeping us from getting good qualified people from applying is we cannot compair to the private sector in pay and people will go where they can get the most for their time....

Just to give everyone the facts, there are no Laterals at the Sheriff's Office that have been promoted. To my knowledge no Lateral has even taken a Prom. test. We "Old Dogs" do not have any interest in being in charge of anything or anyone. We are leaving that to the young Troops.

Currently they are looking at the same standards for a new hire. 2 years to be able to apply for District Detective. 3 for CID and 5 years before you would be eligible to take a promotional exam. The idea is to hire people who know comming in they will be riding the street not a desk.

Amen, I am counting down my days, well years left. Unfortunately the citizens who abide the law are the ones most affected by Rcw's actions. I do not want to be the next headline, so until we get someone who will support the troops instead of head-hunting the troops, I, like most will continue to do the minimum. So sad, because we as Officers want to do more. But until then..................

As far as hiring requirements, the front office needs to take another look at what truely makes a good, productive officer. I would much rather have someone with common sense responding to an emergency situation with rather than somone with a PHD in basket weaving.

I think hiring retired Officers is a quick fix to a reoccuring problem that will be repeated over and over. How long will these retired officers stay, one year, two years, five years and then you're right back where you started. I think a better fix would be to hire new or lateral officers on a continuous basis with classes of 25 to 30 recruits/laterals. The class sizes and frequency of classes (2 a year, 3 a year, etc) can be based upon estimated retirements of Officers that are divided into groups based on their time in service, (20 years, 25 years and etc.) Though it is hard to estimate when someone will retire, statistics of past retirements can be a gauge to use for this purpose. Surely an estimate can be reached. You will occasionly have to factor in new administrations, merging departments and other special circumstances when they occur but it will be better than trying to re-inevent the wheel.

Thats politics for you!One of the problems now, is that the " under educated" people, regard law enforcement officers, as," looking down their nose" at them. We need officers who are compassionate and understanding, but firm and expect you to obey the law. We have them! What Is needed................is, the agitators to get their degrees in the word, COMPLIANCE!!...................................................k5

If DOCJT is a "cow college" - as another poster stated - why is LMPD sending new sergeants to Richmond for the new Academy of Police Supervision? Just graduated 3 new sergeants for LMPD and one from U of L. It's good enough for sergeants, but not good enough for recruits?

Can anyone get into the Richmond program? How do you get into the training there?

They'll get a few people bored with retirement and people who need the money. Don't expect the latter to do any real work and don't expect either to stick around long in the new Jerryville PD. As for the guy who can't get hired, go to college or apply somewhere else. No use crying in your beer over a department this screwed up with a Chief and a Mayor like ours.

Is J-town hiring yet? GET ME OUT OF HERE !!!!!!!!!!!

I believe you are right in your statement, but one thing you sorely left out was common sense, something a lot of officers do not have. The other issue about a college degree in Law Enforcement is that it does not teach or train you to be a good Police Officer or Detective it teaches you to be an Administrator. There are, even though many will not admit it, a lot of college educated Police Officers who could not or did not make rank above a Patrolman or Detective because they could not score high enough on the promotional exams to get promoted.

If you look hard enough and asked the right people, a lot of the administrators you now have were not good or average Patrolman or Detectives, but were good test takers. As a matter of fact you can go back several administrations and this statement will true.

I know for fact several, and I mean several people who are still on and others who have since retired, all they talked about upon being sworned in was being able to take that first Sergeant's Test and getting promoted.

I hope we get so short on the street that Leiutenants are making runs!! I'll bet we get rid of the 'community development' units and other non-cop needed spots officers are retired on duty in then!!

Too many other depts that take care of the people who work for them to come back to this dept. 1 who is ready to leave.

YOU VERY CORRECT IN RESPECT TO COLLEGE, IT WILL NOT HELP YOU IN A DOMESTIC CASE OR MOST OTHER CASES. I WILL SAY THAT HIRING JUST RETIRED OFFICERS MAKES A LOT OF SENSE, BUT THEY SHOULD NOT BE PAID LESS FOR DOING WHAT THEY HAVE EXPERIENCE IN IN THE FIRST PLACE. AND THEN MAYBE ALOT OF RETIRED OFFICER WOULD NOT WANT TO COME BACK, BECASUE OF SERVERAL REASONS AND THEN WHO KNOWS.

Is that the same Dotson that has done so much for ....Never mind.

I agree that we should all stick together. The point of this article is rehiring Police Officers. Don't digress into too many personal issues, but examine why we are at the sad state of recruitment and retention that we are at now and what can be done to alleviate the problem. I personally think that rehiring SOME Officers would be a great idea, but I hope thye are choosy because there are some that need not ever pin on a badge again.

I don't care WHO they hire, as long as they hire SOMEONE!!! They can train chimpanzees to ride a beat as far as I'm concerned, I just wish fat head Jerry would let us have some people. I'm tired of hearing radio tell us how many priority runs they're holding, while also hearing my stomach growl because I havn't had time to eat yet!

ok today i ask again post something new, the department is still going to do what ever it wants to do, they know we don't have enough people, they are glad that we are turning on each other, and that there are outsiders that can't get on and saying bad things. they couldn't be happier up in headhunters 'er i mean headquarters. how about a article about our raise, where is it?, and how much it is, let the folks out there know just how little we got. when will you learn that the powers to be will do what they want unless we stick together address issues. getting on this site is not working, we need to form a front with our FOP, now i know i will open a can of worms but instead of posting look at yourself and let's change it. The FOP really does not do much, you don't see them on TV or rallying the troops and alot of us do not get invlolved. instead of blaming each other let us ,our FOP, our job sit back and look why, there is a need to change. We need to look at why folks don't come and how to get them there, and we need to look and see how we want our voice of the FOP to speak up and what to say. everyone has heard the old saying keep doing the same thing and keep getting the same results.

So stick together, times have changed so we must also,get invloved and let's fix it not ********** about it.

I'm a retiree who just heard about this program, and am thinking about giving it a try after being away nearly six years. I was a fairly good worker but ,after reading some comments, wonder if I would be made to feel welcome by the current officers. I,ve been gone just long enough to miss the job and I know I would never make it back into a specialty unit. It"s funny, but just a couple of weeks ago I was thinking it might be fun to ride a beat again. I don't want to create a presence that might be resented by the younger officers. It sounds like you have enough working against you already.

ABOUT COMMUNITY RELATIONS:THOSE "OFFICERS??" ARE EXACTLY WHERE THEY SHOULD BE.WHEN THEY WERE ON THE STREET THEY DIDN'T EXACTLY SET THE WORLD ON FIRE.AT LEAST UP THERE,THEY CAN'T GET ANY OF OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS HURT OR WORSE.EVERYONE KNOWS WHY THEY GO UP THERE.RIDE IT OUT, YOU COWARDS!!!!!!!!!!!

My concerns about this are as follows:

1) Are we just delaying the inevitable? What happens when these guys really retire? Does LMPD have a long term plan to avoid this problem in the future, such as developing a way to bring in officers year-round? If I apply on Monday, how long would it be before I could start employment as a new recruit, or a lateral, for that matter? If I really want to be a cop (and I'm qualified) - why would I want to go to LMPD as opposed to another agency in the area? That's the question LMPD has to be able to answer.

2) Are all these guys coming back to work jeopardizing the 20 and out retirement plan? If officers keep retiring and coming back, is the state eventually going to figure out that the reason behind the 20 and out - that it is a "young man's (or woman's) game" - no longer exists?

Reply to: Visitor on Jul 23, 2005 - 03:36 PM ---

Perhaps there is resentment from "younger officers" because LMPD is already hiring expierenced officers -- LATERALS!! These laterals could provide the SAME if not more "invaluable expierence and direction" as these retirees if given the chance!! How much respect is a retiree expecting if he's been off the street 18 out of 25 years of his law enforcement career??!? Like LMPD doesn't have enough political BS going on. LMPD is CURRENTLY OVERLOOKING & DENYING OVER QUALIFIED, SPECIALTY TRAINED LATTERAL OFFICERS for promotions and speciality units because they don't have time on with LMPD. It does not matter these latterals have several years of law enforcement expierence!! Can't file a grievance with FOP because from what I've seen, the FOP is out for the FOP and you'll end up black balling yourself! And yet LMPD wants to rehire a bunch of brass retirees who will MOST LIKELY have seniority over the officers currently on the street??!? These retirees will be hired to fill the slots on mid and late watch for how long? Politics as they are, they will surely make their way to the shift and district of their liking. Not to mention the current street officers they'd be screwing over who desperately WANT to move from late to mid watch because of the better hours/schedule but politics prevent them from doing so!!! WHAT A JOKE!! You watch, these retirees will end up with a better contract then the current officers are working under!