Cape Charles Police Chief Jimmy Pruitt addressed Town Council proposing the addition of one, possibly two additional police officers. The CCPD has been down one officer, who has been deployed to Iraq as part of the US Army reserves.
The current Police Force includes five officers working ten-hour shifts – eight days on, six days off – 160 hours a month. One officer on day shift, one on the night shift, others are two off on a rotating schedule. This allows officers to have two weekends off a month.
Chief Pruitt noted that during the summer months, we basically have one officer on duty, while the town has swelled to 3000 people. This creates a situation that is not safe for the public or the police–one officer in a fight with one or multiple subjects raises the use of force drastically, Pruitt said.
Pruitt told Town Council the advantage of having two officers on shift is that it will improve officer and citizen safety, double area coverage, will increase police presence, provides a safer work environment (safety in numbers), and lessens workload and anxiety of officers.
The base salary for a non-certified officer is $33,000, along with 4.5 months of training at the police academy (room, meals, and tolls) at $2,500. There is also 4.5 months of payroll while the officer attends the academy. Even with a new hire, they will not be available for the summer season.
The base salary for an already certified officer is $35,000-39,000, and they are not required to attend the academy. They can start work after a short field training period (100 hours), and they will be available for the summer season.
Chief Pruitt provided these Equipment Costs Details
Uniforms: $1,000 per officer (Gun belt, Duty gear, 3 pants and long-sleeve shirts, 3 short-sleeves shirts, Jackets). Body armor: $1,100 per officer – Duty wear ($700) – Rifle vest ($400).
Other Equipment–Weapons: $900 per officer – Handgun $400 – Rifle: $500 ■ Taser: $1,500 per officer. Bodycam: $300 per officer. Computer in vehicle: $2,500 per officer. Portable radio: $1000 per officer.
Total: $47,300 per certified officer.
Town Council will be discussing these issues as part of the upcoming budget work sessions.
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Well Good Lord !! I never followed or monitored the C. Charles police to know that only 1 officer would be on duty at a time. This situation should never have existed. For safety and insurance reasons many national corporations in America MUST HAVE a minimum of 2 persons working at a time. While I realize there are times when this would be impractical for small town America, when a town summertime swell to that many residents I think additional help would for sure be a good idea. Perhaps put a p/t seasonal officer on duty at the same time as a full timer ?
Or, a return to a society that shares the same values, ethics and respect for their shared culture?
One that self polices, by virtue of passing on the customs and respect for the rule of law?
Cape Charles is always referred to as “Mayberry”. Well, Mayberry had only one Sheriff, one Police car and one Deputy. And the Deputy had only one bullet for his gun. Maybe we should look to Mayberry as the model for our Police Dept? 🙂
As a retired police officer in a major city I can attest to the need for more than 1police officer per shift. Cape Charles is a quiet town but many calls for police assistance including domestic disturbances are completely unsafe for one police officer responding
I don’t think Cape Charles needs more police officers. I think better scheduling for the tourist season should do the trick. Or, perhaps, an extra SEASONAL officer. I also still believe if the officers were seen more at random times, less crime would occur. I see one of the officers is seen quite a bit. She actually rides down EVERY street in Cape Charles. I would bet crime rate is lower on her shifts.