New GIPD chief shares plans and ideas to recruit more officers

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — Kevin Denney has 30 years in law enforcement. Coming from the police department in Jarrell, Texas, Denney started his journey as Grand Island Police Chief on January 16th.

“I’m excited to be here,” Denney said. “Meeting the community and meeting the police officers here has been very comfortable.”

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Denney along with the International Association of Police Chiefs (IAPC) said law enforcement agencies nationwide are facing a crisis in recruiting.

“Staffing issues are not unique to this location, but that’s certainly one of the priorities that was indicated to me to look into and to work on,” Denney said. “To me that’s about creating an organizational culture and stablishing a vision.”

According to the IAPC many agencies strongly believe that public perception of law enforcement limits interest in the profession and is a sizable barrier to effective recruitment. The organization said scrutiny of the police, cellphone recordings of interactions between the police and public, media coverage, and popular entertainment portrayals of police have led many young people to view police differently than their parents may have.

The IAPC said most police officers feel their jobs have gotten more difficult since high-profile use of-force incidents have dominated the national conversation. Also, resulting in more people not being interested in becoming police officers.

“We are recruiting from the same poll that many other law enforcement agencies are recruiting from, we have a limited supply so, we have to do something that sets our organization apart from other organizations,” Denney said.

“Less people want to be police officers, the hiring poll is really shallow,” said GIPD Captain Jim Duering. “We know we have a niche, we have a small town feel, but big city work environment, and that’s something we think allows us to stand out among some of the other agencies.”

Chief Denney said he is currently doing a lot of listening and asking a lot of questions, because from that he can establish the direction the police department will take to help with the recruitment vision.

Currently the GIPD agency is down 15 police officers. Resulting in some overtime and extra shifts for the officers in Grand Island.

“The ones that are here now are doing what they do best, which is digging down and working harder, but they have to be given some relief in the near future, and know that we are going to start filling the slots that we have open,” Denney said.

Denney added that it could take almost a year to hire a new police officer, since they need to go through the police academy and complete all the training. Capt. Duering said he is hopeful for the agency’s future when it comes to recruitment.

“Just like everything, I think we see a light at the end of the tunnel,” Capt. Duering said. “We have a new chief and new ideas that might very well help with that, the big thing is I think we have great people in our doors and it’s just a matter of getting people in here to see that. And I know they would want to work here once they see the people they would get to work with.”

Capt. Duering said a big help to the understaffing issues is the GIPD voluntary program which allows former police officers to work at the Central Nebraska Regional Airport's security. GIPD currently has four former officers working at the airport, with another one coming-in at the end of the month. He said they have this program in place for multiple reasons.

“One, it allows our officers on duty to stay on duty, responding to calls,” Capt. Duering said. “Two, it allows people who are ready for the next step of their lives for post-retirement to stay involved with the department. And three, it’s easy for them to come and go from the airport, without the extra time that we lose when you are doing patrol or investigation duties and have to switch gears to go to the department.”

Former police chief Robert Falldorf is helping with airport duties.

“That has been a well-thought-out solution to our staffing issue,” Denney said.

Denney added the agency is working hard to bring-in police officers that are coachable, approachable, and are also able to go out and take control of situations assuring the safety of the community.

“For me now as a police chief, is about leaving a legacy, and incrementally doing my part to make policing better, to bring it more in line with the community that we serve.”