Perry’s police chief wants more officers

Chief Steve Lynn says ideally he’d like to bring on eight new full-time positions, but that won’t happen right away. He presented a request to mayor and council asking for part-time positions to keep some of the current employees who may get a better job offer outside of law enforcement, but want to stay on the force.

“It’s really two separate issues, but of course they both have to do with having officers do the job,” Lynn says.

He presented a proposal to council members initially asking for four full-time officers. Council plans on reevaluating the city’s budget after they get the city’s tax digest.

Lynn adds the lack of officers forces the department to stretch itself thin to meet the patrolling demands.

“Someone has to fill in. We keep going back to the same officers over and over again. We’re just trying to be creative and come up with a way to give us more resources,” Lynn says.

Once council members get the digest, then they’ll consider bringing on the new positions. Chief Lynn says the city’s crime rate has gone down, but the amount of calls in the city have gone up so they’re trying to keep up with the demand.