Ashland police working on-call during nighttime hours

ASHLAND, Mo. (KMIZ) -

A lack of staff means Ashland police will begin working on-call during the evening.

Officers will work 12-hour shifts in the daytime, then work on-call at night. Chief Gabe Edwards said officers will still respond to calls at night, but people may see delayed response to non-emergency calls at that time.

Mayor Dorise Slinker announced in a video on Facebook alongside Chief Gabe Edwards that the change came at "the brink of a staffing crisis within the police department," due to injuries and a vacancy.

The department currently has one vacancy and one officer out due to injury. Edwards said those openings create a greater need to cover shifts at the small department, which can burn out officers.

"To the outside looking in, a staffing deficiency of one to three officers may seem minimal however in such a small department the effect is massive," Edwards said. "Any time we have officers who are out of service due to injury, illness, vacation or position vacancies the remaining available officers are unable to count on their time off as any disruption in the patrol schedule creates a need for someone to fill that void."

Edwards called the shift temporary, and would reevaluate the shifts when it fills the vacancy.

The Ashland Police Officers' Association posted on Facebook that the department needed more than just the two positions back working to solve its staffing shortage.

Capt. Brian Leer, of the Boone County Sheriff's Office, said deputies would help with calls when Ashland officers were on call.