Columbia Police Department reorganizes to streamline processes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Police Department has implemented changes this week to create a new bureau and some new positions.

Police Chief Jill Schlude said everything went into effect on Feb. 4, with the goal of getting more officers on patrol and making the behind-the-scenes work more efficient.

"We really just hope this gets the right people in the right places to get a lot of the projects done that we've been tasked with," Schlude said.

One aspect of the changes is the creation of the Professional Standards Bureau, which Schlude said combines training, recruitment, policy and internal affairs. Those are all things the department has already been doing, but now causes those units to work more closely together.

"A lot of the things that they do, there's some interdependency built in there and it would be much better if they were able to communicate better about things," Schlude said. "So, we're hoping by having all of them in one bureau we'll be able to get some things a little bit better organized."

Columbia Police Officers Association President Matt Nichols said this is something that has been talked about for a while, and Schlude has been able to put it into action. He said it will allow for expansion and create a more professional atmosphere.

"Really driving home that when we want people to (work) here, that they look at this as a profession rather than a job," Nichols said.

The reorganization also includes the creation of multiple CPD civilian positions, allowing officers with those responsibilities to go back to sworn duties. This includes a Policy and Research Specialist who will be responsible for the department's accreditation process and a Police Records Management System Administrator to oversee CPD's upgrade of its records system.

Nichols said having civilians in these positions instead of sworn officers helps during CPD's current staffing shortage.

"When we civilian-ize some of these Monday-Friday desk jobs, we are putting more resources back into the street and putting them back where we're desperately needing them right now," Nichols said.

Schlude said having a civilian in those positions will also allow for more efficiency, since officers are frequently moving around in the department.

CPD Spokesperson Christian Tabak said the department has 41 sworn officer vacancies and 11 civilian vacancies as of Thursday morning.

The changes also reestablish the Deputy Chief position that was removed in 2019. Former interim chief Matt Stephens has been selected for this position.

Schlude said this will help avoid bottlenecks in the department and allow more to get done within the department.

"There's a lot of things that flow up eventually to me, but sometimes there are lots of things that could be handled at different levels," Schlude said.

Both Schlude and Nichols said the reorganizing consists mostly of behind-the-scenes work, but it will allow the department to more easily manage both the law enforcement side of the job and its administrative responsibilities.

"I do think that with the ability of even behind-the-scenes work to streamline processes, make things easier for the folks that are riding in patrol cars, that will ultimately yield more productivity from those officers," Nichols said.

A council memo states these changes--along with some Finance Department changes--have an estimated annual cost of $265,000, but can be made without an increase to the fiscal 2024 budget.

Schlude said this is not an additional $265,000 on the city, but just the overall cost of the changes combined.

The Columbia City Council approved CPD's proposal in January.