Dougherty County Police Chief Jackie Battle shows alarming attrition rates

ALBANY — While Dougherty County Police Chief Jackie Battle offered staggering attrition numbers during her annual report to the Dougherty County Commission Monday morning, County Administrator Richard Crowdis said there is a bit of a light at the end of the tunnel.

A look at the five-year attrition rate with the 55-member county police departments showed:

— A 103 percent total turnover rate departmentwide;

— An 84.7 percent turnover rate of 46 law enforcement positions;

— A 200 percent turnover rate of the department’s nine civilian positions;

— A total of 334 years of law enforcement experience lost;

— An average of 8.5 years of experience lost per officer.

Battle also said that it’s difficult for DCP to retain officers when nearby law enforcement agencies offer significantly higher pay. The Albany Police Daprtment, Battle pointed out, starts its patrol officers’ pay at $5 more per hour than her department.

“It has become a big thing because it’s what the officers are thinking about and talking about,” Battle said after the meeting. “The problem is we’re losing some really good people. We have stability at the top, management level, and we have young officers coming in who are committed to staying two years after they are POST-certified. But once they meet that obligation, many of them are looking for higher-paying jobs.

“I can’t blame anyone who has to take care of their family, but unfortunately we’re serving as a training ground for other law enforcement agencies.”

In response to a question from Commissioner Anthony Jones, Battle said the county pays approximately $1,000 for incidentals in addition to three months’ salary to take officers through the certification process.

Battle’s attrition report shows the loss of 56 DCP officers over the past five years for various reasons. Most troubling for her is the number of officers who are leaving DCP for other law enforcement jobs. Her report indicates officers have left to take positions with the Sylvester Police Department, Lee County Sheriff’s Office, Albany Police Department, Dougherty County School System, Crisp County Sheriff’s Office, Columbus Juvenile Justice System, Dawson Police Department, Valdosta State University Police Department, Henry County Police and the Dougherty County District Attorney’s Office.

“We’re not alone in this; it’s a problem nation- and statewide,” Battle said. “It’s something I hope we can address with the budget. I’m scheduled to talk with Mr. Crowdis tomorrow.”

While confirming that attrition is a problem with all departments of the county government, Crowdis pointed out that attrition with DCP has shown a steady decline.

“The turnover rate was 27 percent in 2011, 20 percent in 2012, 21 percent in 2013, 16 percent in 2014 and 14 percent last year,” the county administrator said. “We’re going to look at any options we can to address this problem, but at least we’re moving in the right direction now.

“The pay raise for all of our employees last year certainly helped provide a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. And when we get deeper into the budget process this year, we’ll certainly look to see if there are ways we can help in that regard, especially when it comes to our law enforcement. We’re aware that sustainability is the key.”

Also at Monday’s commission meeting, Battle recognized the department’s superlative employees for 2015. Among those honored were Cpl. Byron Hill, Officer of the Year; dispatcher LaSindia Powell, Support Staff of the Year; Officer Donald Eubanks, Top Gun; and Sgt. Tamiko Whitlock, District Attorney’s Office Officer of the Year.