Proposal: drug forfeiture funds to pay for CPD staffing study

The Columbia Police Department is requesting money to hire an outside consultant to figure out if the department is efficiently using its staff.

The proposal was first introduced Monday night at the city council meeting.

City staff is asking to use $40,000 to pay for the consultant. That money would be taken from what’s called an asset forfeiture fund, which is money that has been seized in drug or weapons busts and other crimes.

Right now, CPD has roughly $270,000 in the asset forfeiture fund.

Police said the staffing study would likely take around nine months to complete, but that the results could help them maximize their resources effectively in years to come.

CPD said the planning is still in the beginning stages and a consultant hasn’t been chosen because they’re waiting for the proposal to go before the city council.

But if it’s approved, a hired consultant would monitor the happenings of the 12 hour shifts to see if the department is using its staff efficiently.

ABC 17 News requested to talk to someone on the command staff about the proposal, but was told the department isn’t ready to talk about it yet.

When ABC 17 learns more, we’ll update the story.

At the next city council meeting, the council is set to vote either to approve or deny the request.