Hunstersville's police shortage issue is still happening in North Carolina. To solve this problem, candidates in the Huntersville Board of Commissioner race shared their suggestions.
There are a total of 16 candidates running for the position. But, only 14 of them shared their solutions for the police shortage.
The question is, will their suggestions really help attract more cops and other law enforcement officers?
Huntersville Board of Commissioner Candidates Offer Police Shortage Solutions
Yahoo News reported among the solutions offered by Huntersville Board of Commissioner candidates are higher salaries and affordable housing.
"Our Police, Firemen, Teachers, office workers, can't afford to live in the town they work," said Amanda Dumas, one of the candidates, via WFAE.Org.
"I would like to focus some development on apartments and condos that allow these folks to live and build a life here in town," she added.
Since 2018, the turnover rates among Huntersville police officers have been increasing drastically.
This trend began when former Police Chief Cleveland Spruill announced that many cops decided to leave the North Carolina town's police department to join the Charlotte-Mecklenbun Police Department.
Many of these police officers said that the main reason for their transfer is for them to earn more money. In 2022, Huntersville commissioners were informed that the town only had 1.5 officers per 1,000 residents.
This is quite low compared to other neighboring towns, which usually had an average of 2.6 cops per 1,000 residents. As of writing, the Huntersville Police Department has 106 cops.
However, the law enforcement agency's $17 million budget aims to attract 127 full-time police officers.
Better Work Conditions, Higher Salaries, and More
Candidates John O'Neill and Jamie Wideman said that Huntersville town should also focus on improving working conditions if they want to attract new police officers.
O'Neill suggested that officials should check the specific law enforcement positions that have the highest turnover rates and why people are resigning.
Meanwhile, Frank Gammon, Alisia Bergsman, Jennifer Hunt, and Matt Jones all agreed that the town should invest in workforce housing.
Jones explained that Huntersville should create policies that would incentivize housing developments so that cops and other law enforcers can have affordable houses.
As mentioned above, Amanda Dumas said that she'll focus on higher salaries. Although this solution is among the most common efforts when it comes to police shortages, her suggestion is still practical.
Right now, Huntersville police officers earn $50,773 on average. Applicants with college degrees or law enforcement experience usually earn up to $70,973.
If you compare these earnings to other nearby towns, Huntersville's offered annual salary shrinks to those that offer up to $100,249 per year.
