A recent report from the West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy found that ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä police officers are increasing overtime by thousands of hours and dollars each year.
Sara Whitaker, author of the report, found that, in fiscal year 2023 (July 2022-June 2023), ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä officers claimed 78,004 hours of overtime to the tune of almost $3 million. This was $734,152 over what was budgeted for overtime pay, Whitaker said.
According to analysis by the center, in 2020, there were 50,673 hours with a cost of $1.6 million. In 2021, those numbers climbed to 64,808 hours and $2.2 million. In 2022, there were 67,516 hours totaling $2.4 million.
In this fiscal year’s city budget, police overtime received more funding than the Coordinated Addiction Response Effort Office, the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Community Development, the public library, the public art office and projects, and all festivals combined.
City Councilwoman Chelsea Steelhammer, who represents Ward 10, called the numbers “astounding†and said there are patterns that cannot be ignored.
“I’m not saying there are never weeks where extreme overtime is worked — I am sure there are,†she said. “We have many examples of wonderful officers staying beyond their allotted hours to aid and serve our community.
“But I am also sure that nobody worked seven hours a day extra overtime, on top of their 40 hours, every single week in a year.â€
Steelhammer was referencing a finding in the report that one officer worked 2,546 hours of overtime in a single year.
The report addresses some possible reasons for the increased overtime, such as underpaid officers or an understaffed department. However, according to a July hiring advertisement, a new officer could earn $68,000 in their first year on the job — over $10,000 more than ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä’s median household income.
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The report found that the force of 165 uniformed officers (173 full-time employees according to budget documents) is significantly larger than cities with similar or larger populations. For example, Huntington only has 92 officers.
The report raises several issues with extensive overtime, such as officer fatigue and over-policing of minor crimes.
The department’s publicly available manual doesn’t specify overtime procedures.
A response letter from former police chief Tyke Hunt cited in the report gives different reasons for overtime, such as calls for apprehension or SWAT teams, special events, traffic checkpoints, and community meetings and neighborhood watch programs “outside of normal business hours.†He also mentioned raises as an additional reason for increased overtime pay.
Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin and interim police chief Scott Dempsey defended the overtime in a statement.
“We have been able to achieve record-high solve rates and record-low crime rates because we spend hours and hours building relationships in our communities through extra patrols, neighborhood watch meetings, special events and proactive community policing,†the statement said.
According to Goodwin and Dempsey, the city has begun implementing an overtime procedure in all departments. Employees who work over 16 hours in a day have to submit a form explaining the reason for their overtime.
According to the statement, overtime hours benefit the “entire community.â€
“When we get high levels of community input about a public safety issue in a neighborhood, we use extra patrols with overtime officers to monitor the situation. These extra patrols are a direct result of community/neighborhood watch meetings, which utilize officers working overtime to meet with community members in addition to their regular duties,†the statement said.
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