Despite a high volume of applicants, CPD struggles to fill ranks as applicants fail vetting

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) 

The Columbia Police Department is looking to implement downtown and traffic units, but cannot do so until all patrol beats across the city are fully staffed.

While CPD says it has no shortage of applicants, many are failing to pass the department’s vetting process, which has contributed to the ongoing staffing shortage. 

“Just people not being able to make it through the background process. We do a lot of prior employment history, prior residence history. We do tons of interviews. We do a computer voice stress analysis where we try to make sure everything they put on their application was true and correct,” Columbia Police Chief Jill Schulde told ABC 17 News. “We're just pulling a lot of people out for various things, and that's what the process was intended to do. I’m not upset about that I would just like to see more people get through.” 

CPD requires applicants to be at least 21 years old by the time they complete Missouri POST certification, have a high school diploma or equivalent, qualify for a Class A peace officer license and maintain a valid Missouri driver’s license and safe driving record. Applicants must also have no serious criminal record entries, maintain a CPR certification and demonstrate a strong work and attendance history.

Candidates must then pass written, drug, psychological, Computer Voice Stress Analyzer and medical examinations. They must also obtain Missouri POST certification within six months of employment.

Seth Fallik, chair of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, said police hiring processes typically include physical fitness requirements, interviews and background investigations that can examine a candidate’s family, friends, former employers and housing history. Some departments may also review credit history.

“A criminal record: That's going to immediately disqualify you. Of late, we've seen departments sort of ease their requirements around drug use or abuse or history thereof,” Fallik said. “Particularly as it relates to marijuana, as it becomes more accepted across the country. So these things are going to be immediate red flags for an agency and not necessarily disqualifying.” 

However, despite many departments loosening their restrictions on drug use, Fallik says meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee a job, particularly when agencies are evaluating large pools of candidates.

“Remember, you're going up against 100-plus individuals for one position. So I like to tell people that just because you meet the minimum requirements doesn't mean that's necessarily who they're actually hiring for,” Fallik said.

Fallik said thorough screening also helps departments avoid hiring candidates whose conduct or qualifications could expose a city to legal liability.

“That could cost you millions of dollars in a lawsuit later on, if you're looking at somebody who's slipped through the cracks in terms of their qualifications,” Fallik said.  “That cost doesn't necessarily come directly to the individual. It comes to the taxpayers often or the city. So yeah, you want to make sure you're doing your due diligence,” Fallik said.

He said that due diligence can include checking with other law enforcement agencies when an applicant is transferring from another department or coming from out of state.

Staffing limits downtown policing plans

CPD is divided into eight patrol beats and ideally would have two officers assigned to each. Schlude said the department must prioritize staffing those beats before it can establish dedicated downtown and traffic units.

“Sometimes we wish there were places where we could do more and that's where the staffing piece comes in. So I know there's a high level of frustration about the downtown unit and reconstituting it. With other folks the traffic unit is also high on the list. It is for us as well, but we can't do those things until we have basic staffing in the beats,” Schlude said.

The staffing constraints come as downtown policing has drawn scrutiny following a report showing a 47.8% increase in reported incidents during the yearlong period ending Sept. 15. CPD recorded 769 incidents downtown, up from 520 during the previous year.

The department has said increased police enforcement contributed to the rise in reported incidents. Of the 9,055 calls for service recorded through Sept. 15, 4,967 were initiated by police, while 4,088 came from the public.

CPD increased enforcement downtown after a fatal shooting last year, focusing on lower-level offenses and disturbances in an effort to prevent more serious violence. The department has said the strategy has helped reduce some violent crime indicators, including confirmed shots-fired incidents downtown.

Schlude said the additional enforcement has helped, but maintaining that level of deployment indefinitely is not sustainable. She also noted downtown crime has historically fluctuated with seasonal factors, including the school year and changes in crowd sizes.

“That extra enforcement that we're engaging in has really been helping move the lever there. It's not sustainable forever and obviously, as you saw on some of the charts, the crime downtown in general has always been very seasonal and cyclical and has to do with crowds and when schools and session and things of that nature,” Schlude said.

With a dedicated downtown unit, CPD could focus more consistently on downtown concerns without having to rely as heavily on officers assigned to other responsibilities, Schlude said.

“I do think when we get back to having a downtown unit, it's going to help with the overall, whether it's actual crime or perception of crime. I think it's going to help. Hopefully next year will be in a position where we can staff that unit and see results,” Schlude said.

For now, the department is balancing downtown enforcement with its other responsibilities across the city. Schlude said CPD has increased staffing in areas such as its street crimes unit, which investigates nonfatal shootings, but additional staffing would give the department more flexibility to address public safety concerns.