Columbus police chief highlights recruiting success, specialized units and technology improvements
Recruiting remains one of law enforcement’s biggest challenges nationwide, but Columbus Police Chief Stoney Mathis says his department is in one of its strongest staffing positions in years.
Speaking with CNAW2News.com, Mathis said the department currently employs approximately 380 officers while another 40 recruits are in various stages of academy training, field training or pre-academy preparation.
“We’re not completely full, but we’re close,” Mathis said.
Although the department continues losing one or two officers each month through retirements, resignations or academy attrition, Mathis believes recruiting efforts have dramatically improved.
Another accomplishment he points to is rebuilding specialized units that had previously been eliminated.
Today, the department includes dedicated community policing, K-9, gang, narcotics and tactical units.
Those teams work alongside patrol officers using predictive analytics that analyzes crime data to determine where officers should be deployed before crimes occur.
“We can almost predict where crime is going to occur,” Mathis said.
Mathis also emphasized leadership development, sending command staff members to nationally recognized law enforcement leadership programs including the FBI National Academy, Northwestern University and the Southern Police Institute.
He believes modern policing requires communication as much as command.
“Cops are smart,” he said. “If you explain what you’re trying to accomplish, they understand.”
Mathis also praised the department’s dispatchers, saying renovations to the 911 center and improved training have helped transform what was once a severely understaffed operation.
“They’re just as important as my police officers,” he said.
Regarding public perception, Mathis acknowledged many citizens have a general distrust of government but believes every officer interaction either builds or weakens community confidence.
“Every time you make contact with a citizen, you either make a withdrawal or you make a deposit in respect.”
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