Amid shortage, GPD can’t protect its own house

They are already working longer shifts and jumping, seemingly constantly, from call to call — unable to perform the preventative policing that stops crime before it happens.

They are already “burned out” — and suffering from the hit to morale that comes with watching colleagues jump ship for higher-paying opportunities in neighboring communities.

And as if the staffing crisis inside the Goldsboro Police Department rearing its ugly head in longer response times for residents calling 911 and the thinning — or elimination — of special units was not bad enough, now, the GPD’s headquarters is, quite literally, feeling the impact.

In the last week, unknown vandals inflicted $2,500 worth of damage to a police cruiser parked outside the department and, several days later over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, threw a brick through one of the building’s windows.

And while police Chief Mike West does not believe the men and women protecting the community were, necessarily, targets of the person, or people, who damaged the property, he acknowledged that the city’s criminal element is growing more brazen as he works with a depleted force that can barely manage to cover Goldsboro — much less the GPD’s own house.

“I think (the staffing shortage) does kind of give that vibe in the community — especially in the negative element of the community — that this might be the prime time if we’re going to go out and practice some lawlessness,” West said. “The chances of getting caught are slim to none because the police department is so understaffed. I think that is some of it. I think the bad actors feel like they’ve got a better opportunity of getting away with their deeds.”

But, he added, if the GPD was fully staffed, that sense of security would likely disappear rather quickly.

“Having that staff, it keeps people guessing about where we’re going to turn up next,” he said. “It keeps the crime and the lawlessness down.”

And it would certainly allow for West to ensure an officer was always available to protect the police headquarters.

“If I had more staffing, there would be more frequent officers coming in and out of the building and around the building, as opposed to now when I’ve got basically a skeleton crew. Right now, to protect our own house, I’ve got to call officers back in,” he said. “Normally … if I had 14 officers on a shift, we would just take one officer off the street and say, ‘Look. We need you to babysit the PD tonight.’ It wouldn’t have been a problem, and we could have moved on with our lives. But now, it’s like robbing Peter to pay Paul to get somebody back here to work. I understand it. I wouldn’t want to work it either. These officers are burned out. They are working all the time as it is.”

The plight of the city’s law enforcement force has been well-documented in months.

The issue came to the fore earlier this year, when West told members of the City Council that without salary increases that would allow the GPD to compete with neighboring departments, officers would continue to flee ranks that were already dangerously diminished.

And he proposed two potential pay increases, but made it clear that only “Plan A,” which would have given officers scaled increases up to 21 percent, would stop the bleeding and allow him to beef his force back up to the level needed to protect city residents.

The second option, “Plan B,” was only created because West was ordered to provide an alternative by City Manager Tim Salmon, who ultimately endorsed the less favorable option — arguing that while the costs to implement Plan A could be covered for this fiscal year, the city, which already had to take $1 million from its fund balance to meet its budget needs, would be obligated to come up with even more cash in the 2024-25 spending plan.

That future cost, he told council members, would add a $1.5 million obligation “that you are going to have to come up with next budget cycle.”

At the time, several council members said they were “uncomfortable” approving a plan that would obligate the next council — the men and women who were elected in November — to an expenditure that would require serious decisions, like tax increases or cuts in other departments.

Mayor-elect Charles Gaylor was one of them, saying that a vote for Plan A at the time would be “a monumental shift to the budget that will handicap the incoming council.”

But he added that should he be elected, he was ready to fight to ensure the GPD was made whole.

Since that time, recently reelected District 1 Councilwoman Hiawatha Jones and Mayor Pro Tem Brandi Matthews have voiced support for the department.

“You’ve got to take care of the people who take care of you, and I think that our policemen and women and our firefighters were shorthanded. I think the city could have done better, and it was worth a lot more conversation,” Matthews said ahead of her re-election.

Jones agreed, but said she was troubled by the notion that the only way to give first responders much-needed salary increases was to raise taxes.

“There is some money somewhere in that budget to fund what we need,” she said.

Others elected to the board in November have also said they would stand behind the GPD.

Chris Boyette, who will soon be sworn in to represent District 2, characterized the staffing shortage as “a critical situation” that “should never have gotten to the place that it’s at.”

“So, I am absolutely committed to do whatever it takes to fix that problem at the first available moment,” he said during his campaign.

And Jamie Taylor, who won her bid to serve the residents of District 3 handily, said her concern was for the future of the city.

“I think, you know, they lay their lives on the line for us, and I believe that the raise that they received was helpful in attracting the new officers, but my concern is that it does not help the officers that have been there for years and years feel like they matter,” she said. “I want to make sure that all of our city employees are paid the way they should be paid, but, you know, we really have to get behind our police officers so we can get this crime down. We’re not going to be able to do anything as long as we have crime. Businesses aren’t going to want to come here. People aren’t going to want to move here. It’s a domino effect.”

The new council will be sworn in Dec. 4. It is unclear whether the topic of GPD salaries will come up during the session.