NORWICH – The Norwich Police Department will be welcoming in the new year with a cooperative effort by adopting a new shift schedule in hopes of making officers more safe and giving them more time with their families.
The City of Norwich and Police Benevolent Association have agreed upon a new shift plan that will call for the department to work 12 hour days without getting paid any additional overtime.
The new 12-hour shift will reduce the number of total shifts in a day and place additional officers together for larger blocks of time. There will be approximately 4 to 5 officers working each shift under the new plan. This system allows officers to work several days in a row and they’ll receive consecutive days off. Half of the officers at a time will also receive every other alternating weekend off. Under the old schedule officers only received a weekend off every seven weeks. This is the same system employed by the New State Troopers.
The new system will require an estimated 30 percent more regular hours to be worked by department and officers will be contributing an additional 20 hours each week.
“A primary reason the officers selected to work the additional time without overtime pay is because of the time off every other weekend. It makes it much easier on the families,” said PBA, Union Vice President, Gard Turner.
The department currently operates on three eight hour shifts in a 24 hour period, when the PD goes to 12 hour shifts more officer will be on duty together. “Right now we usually schedule three officers to work each of the eight hour shifts but when we have someone call in sick, it only leaves two officers.” said Police Chief Joseph Angelino.
The chief said that the old system cost more overtime and forces the department to call in officers on their scheduled days off. Both parties also agreed that the current system presents more risks to the officers because of the unexpected man power shortages. The PD usually assigns an officer to the station desk at all times but because of the smaller shift size that officer may need to assist the other in dangerous situations, forcing them to temporarily close the station or contact administrative personnel for aid.
“So if you have a call in, you now have two officers. One is going be at the desk most of the time meaning the other is going to be on patrol alone most of the time, which is OK, unless something bad happens. In the new system there won’t hopefully ever be a situation like that.” said Angelino.
The tentative 2008 budget is $1,245,165 and is projected lower than the 2007 budget, which was $1,252,675.
Angelino said 2007 was an unusually expensive year because of the number of high profile cases and because the department had two new officers absent at academy training for six months.
In 2006, the PD’s budget was $1,119,340 but had an overtime cost of $88,000 because of officers being called in. The over time costs in 2007 were $141,102. Angelino said that the new shifts will have more officers and will reduce the overtime cost. The money saved from overtime is expected to offset the additional cost the change may have, which includes additional money for fuel, police car maintenance and operating cost.
The city and union both have agreed to review the new arrangement every three months for the first year of operation. At those three month intervals either can elect to discontinue the change over. The plan was presented to the City of Norwich Common Council who approved of the plan and preparations for the switch began in early fall. The new schedule goes into effect Monday, Dec. 31.