Whiteville police chief seeks additional officers

By NICOLE CARTRETTE

Whiteville Police Department is understaffed, Chief Jerry Britt told City Council at Monday’s planning retreat.

“We don’t have the personnel to take care of the city,” Britt said.

Britt is asking for a minimum of two additional officer positions on the force that has been reduced from 27 officers in 1997 to 21 today due to a reduction in community policing grants.

The number of officers available to respond to calls at city parks this time of year is sometimes alarmingly low, the chief said.

“I’m terrified to death when there are 200 to 300 people and only two officers,” Britt admitted.

Since the incidents around Central Middle School the department has devoted a lot of time around the school, he said. Fights at Central Middle School and Whiteville High School have increased, he pointed out.

“Central Middle in the past two or three weeks has had internal violence, not necessarily gang related,” Britt said. “If I have only two officers the rest of the city goes lacking because we do not have the manpower.”

Heavy patrolling is taking place on Martin Luther King Street “where there are a lot of problems,” Britt indicated.

“We are constantly doing license checks on the west side of town,” he said, insisting they deter crime.

“The crime rate has skyrocketed,” Britt said, citing an increase in reports taken. He noted that the department documents everything –even if it is a call for service.

Several arrests have been made and warrants served, he said. Officers are patrolling Optimist Field daily and working overtime, Britt said. He said other areas of the city may need additional attention during the summer, noting the park on the east side attracts many out-of-county individuals coming to play basketball.

“The budget is fine,” Britt assured council, but more officers are needed.

Mayor Dial Gray asked how many officers Britt felt he needed.

“I am asking for a minimum of two,” Britt replied.

“But how many do you need?” Gray insisted.

“Four would be better,” Britt said.

Britt is making changes at the department that he feels will better serve the community. A major’s position was traded for an additional detective’s position. The extra detective is needed to help solve cases, he said.

Although better pay at other agencies contributes to turnover rates at the department, Britt believes the $25,217 starting pay for an officer is adequate.

“Entry pay is pretty good,” he said.

The department is targeting gang activity, Britt said. He noted that the department received much-needed gang activity training from New Hanover County Gang Task Force officials recently. He also indicated that the department had recently developed a list of possible gang members.

Britt said his goal is to take care of the patrol division, not to begin community policing. Community policing is great when the department can designate officers to specific areas, Britt said.

“Department-wide, it doesn’t work well,” he asserted.

With limited manpower, community policing is not possible, he said. Four more officers alone are needed for patrol and even more would be needed to implement community policing, he said. Hesitant to discuss the possibility of future community policing in Whiteville, Britt said he wanted to wait and see what action council takes regarding his current requests for additional funding.

The police department’s current budget is slightly more than $1.3 million.