Police | Delta Digital News Service

JPD Chief Rick Elliott requests salary increase for officers

Posted on July 24, 2023 by deltadnews

Once ranked high, officer salaries trail behind many other police departments in the state

By Caroline Cherry Averitt | Contributor

Delta Digital News Service

June 21, 2023

JONESBORO, Ark. – Jonesboro Police Department Chief Rick Elliott requested the city increase the salaries for police officers due to inflation, salary changes across the state and recruitment problems.

Elliott spoke made the requests during the Public Safety Council Committee meeting to discuss the Police Pay and Retention Plan on Tuesday.

“We’re seeing the same problem here in Jonesboro, trying to recruit and retain quality officers. So, we just kind of laid out tonight, the makeup of the department, the number of losses over the past several years and what can be done to address that,” Elliott said.

“We’re seeing the same problem here in Jonesboro, trying to recruit and retain quality officers.”…
– Rick Elliott, JPD Police Chief

Elliott said over the past 18 months, 35 officers left the department. Some quit, others retired and a few were fired. He said he believes many officers left because of pay.

“I know several officers that have applied with the Arkansas State Police and again, their pay scale compared to any other state in the state is as off the chart. And you know, I can’t necessarily compete with that,” he said.

He said he wants to provide competitive salaries in order to keep officers, not only from leaving for other forces, but also for leaving to work other jobs that pay more than law enforcement.

Mayor Harold Copenhaver said police salaries have increased since his election.

“We have the largest police force in this part of the state of Arkansas with 175 officers, and I take pride in that. So, when I became mayor, then we have made substantial adjustments to police pay,” he said.

“We have the largest police force in this part of the state of Arkansas with 175 officers, and I take pride in that. So, when I became mayor, then we have made substantial adjustments to police pay.”
– Harold Copenhaver, Mayor of the City of Jonesboro

Even with these adjustments, Elliott said salaries still need to be raised in order to compete with other Arkansas police departments that also are making adjustments to salaries.

“Not five months ago, we were in the top five when it came to starting pay in the state of Arkansas, and now we’re in the middle to lower area of that just in four months,” he said.

The police department is also dealing with issues regarding applicants. Out of the 130 applicants this year, only six have met the department standards.

“We see a lot of applicants. But at the end of the day, they don’t meet our standards to go to work here,” Elliot said.

Additionally, Elliot said some officers leave the force due to the traumatic nature of the job. “These officers go to work and the things that they see day in and day out, is very troubling to them. I mean, we’re seeing bad accidents, we’re seeing death cases. You know, and it’s hard for them to emotionally process,” he said.

Councilman Brian Emison, Ward 1, Position 2 seat, attended the Public Safety Council Committee meeting. He said he believes police salaries need to be adjusted.

“The world has dramatically changed, especially in regards to inflation and in pay, and these are the individuals that allow us to go to sleep at night and able to rest in our beds and not have to worry,” Emison said.

“The world has dramatically changed, especially in regards to inflation and in pay, and these are the individuals that allow us to go to sleep at night and able to rest in our beds and not have to worry.”
– Brian Emison, Public Safety Councilman

He said, as a councilman, he wants to do what he can to address issues and take care of the needs of law enforcement and first responders.

Councilman Brian Emison, Ward 1, Position 2 seat

“No matter how much money we ever pay them, it’ll never be enough for what they do and the sacrifices their family makes. So, just being able to show our appreciation to them and also being able to provide safety to the citizens of Jonesboro, I think should be the utmost priority, because what is a quality of life if you can’t preserve life at the end of the day,” he said.

Elliott said he feels hopeful his issues will be addressed.

“Now, I’m a realist about things and I think we can come to a compromise to have something that will suit the needs of our people,” Elliott said.

The Public Safety Committee Council plans to either begin the next meeting earlier or call a special session in order to have more time to address the department’s issues.

“I believe in our police officers and I believe in public safety,” Copenhaver said.

Caroline Cherry Averitt is a junior at Arkansas State University from Jonesboro, Arkansas. Her major is multimedia journalism with a minor in writing studies concentrating in creative writing. She can be reached at: caroline.averitt@smail.astate.edu

Public Safety

Operation D.E.T.E.R. Causes Mixed Reaction

Posted on February 27, 2017 by Jorge Quiquivix

By Jorge Quiquivix
Delta Digital News Service

WEST MEMPHIS — Even though this city has more than 25,000 residents, a police captain said it experiences violent crimes more than any other small town. That is something police hope to change.

Maisha Spears has lived in the Delta community for seven years and has seen crime get worse each year, especially when it comes to murders. West Memphis Police reported 11 murders in 2016.

“It’s actually scary because I have children of my own growing up in this neighborhood,” Spears said.

As a mother of three, Spears is one of many in the city who welcome the newly enacted crime crackdown by the West Memphis Police Department. Both the patrol and investigate units restructured so they could enact Operation Data Enhanced Targeted Enforcement and Restoration at the start of February.

Capt. Joe Baker said after being a member of the Violence Reduction Network for just more than a year, the police department visited Los Angeles to see LAPD’s Operation LASER in effect.

“We liked the elements of the program. So, we replicated the program to bring it back to West Memphis,” Baker said.

The department looked at the last three years of reporting data and searched for an area with a large concentration of violent crimes like homicides, battery, aggravated assault and terroristic acts. After an analysis, police focused on the southwest part of the city for the operation.

“It’s a really targeted effort,” Baker said. “It’s targeted based on the people committing these crimes. It’s not a suppression effort. It’s not a corner jump street effort.”

Spears agreed that particular side of the community was known for violent crimes.

“Hopefully, they’ll straighten it up because there have been a lot of killings going on in the last couple of months,” she said.

However, not everyone agrees with the crackdown. A man, who did not want to be named, was standing across the street from Maddux Elementary School. He said there’s no crackdown on crime because there is no crime.

“They’re harassing people,” he said. “The police say they are cracking down and they are setting up speed traps right in front of the school just to catch innocent parents who have nothing to do with anything.”

He said he feels violent crime in the southwest part of town is all lies because people can drive through the neighborhood without coming across gangs.

“In big cities, gangs huddle up. You see them everywhere; that’s not the case here,” the man said.

Nevertheless, Baker said the data speaks for itself. The department set a goal after the program has been in place for nine to 12 months.

“I know in a city like L.A. where we copied this from, a 3 to 5 percent decrease in their violent crime and a 10 percent decrease in their homicides is a big deal,” he said.

With more than 10 homicides last year, Baker said the odds look well for the small town.

“Ten percent, that’s one person’s life that is being saved,” he said.

The West Memphis Police Department is a pilot test for small-town adaptions of Operation LASER. If their version works, not only would the program expand to other parts of the city, Baker said his colleagues would teach other Delta communities how to incorporate it in their municipality.