Cheney needs more cops on the street

Our society has become far too dangerous and complex to rely upon one police officer per shift to sort through the labyrinth of issues that arise each day. Not to mention confronting those citizens that will not cooperate or those that must be taken into custody for breaking the law. In the city of Cheney police officers routinely work alone and this practice is no longer acceptable.

Moreover, there are times when a Cheney police officer has multiple calls to respond to at the same time. How then can one or even two officers meet these demands? The honest answer is that they can’t do it alone. We need to staff the police department to meet the challenges of modern policing and the increased workload demands that officers face each day.

The Cheney Police Department is made up of 14 commissioned police officers — Police Chief, commander, detective sergeant, detective, two patrol sergeants, seven patrol officers, and one school resource officer. CPD serves a population of 11,310, but an estimated daytime population of nearly 25,000 during the EWU school year.

A study was done in 2014 of all police departments serving cities of 9,000 – 12,000 in Washington State. Cheney is nearly at the top of that list based on population, but the Cheney Police Department is dead last in staffing. CPD would need to hire an additional six officers to meet the average number of officers of the other 11 cities polled.

When the same cities were studied based on the ratio of number of officers per 1,000 residents, CPD would need to hire four officers just to surpass the second lowest city on the list and would need to hire eight officers to reach the average of those cities. (CPD would need to hire 34 officers to meet that same ratio if the estimated 25,000 daytime population were used).

This situation must change and you can help. The Cheney Police Guild urges you to vote yes on Cheney Proposition One. Proposition One will position the city to increase police staffing which will enhance safety for our police officers on the street while maintaining the service level you deserve.

Nate Conley

Cheney Police Guild