St. Louis City Ward 12 Alderwoman Sharon Tyus is spearheading legislation (Res. #125) that recommends SLMPD hiring retired officers as part-time traffic officers. This is on the agenda for the March 8 Board of Alderman Meeting and tonight’s Public Safety Committee Meeting. The Ethical Society of Police has released this official statement in support.
March 7, 2024
OFFICIAL STATEMENT OF THE ETHICAL SOCIETY OF POLICE
The Ethical Society of Police thanks Ward 12 Alderwoman Sharon Tyus for taking bold action to help fill SLMPD’s officer staffing gaps that are negatively impacting our officers and citizens. Alderwoman Tyus is sponsoring a bill that recommends hiring retired police officers to assist part-time with SLMPD traffic control. Retired officers who have a desire to continue to serve have a wealth of experience to contribute to our city. Passing this bill just makes sense.
Our officers are suffering from the officer shortage.
Hiring efforts have not made enough of an impact on the shortage and can be a slow process. In the meantime, officers are spread thin. The resulting low morale adds fuel to the cycle of losing officers to other careers and departments.
Our citizens are suffering from the officer shortage.
Areas of our city often have highly insufficient coverage leading to crime and citizens frequently not getting the investigations they deserve for certain crimes against them. Assigning retired officers to traffic control can free up active officers to be assigned to where they are needed the most.
The ESOP board goes further and advocates that retired officers with appropriate experience and background checks be considered for various other positions within our Department that are also underserved such as desk clerks for area stations, the Real Time Crime Center, telephone reporting, as background investigators and dispatchers.
We highly support the passage of this bill and are ready to support implementation from ESOP member officers.
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About The Ethical Society of Police
The Ethical Society of Police (ESOP) was founded in 1972 by African-American officers to address race-based discrimination in the community and within the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. In 2018, the ESOP expanded to include membership for civilian and commissioned employees of law enforcement agencies within St. Louis County.
The Ethical Society of Police is an association of police officers and civilians whose mission is to bridge communications between the historically marginalized communities and law enforcement. The ESOP works to improve: community/police relations, develop policies and programs to reduce crime, elevate the status of minority civilians and police officers, encourage greater minority employment by law enforcement agencies, and increase professionalism in law enforcement. Membership is open to all races, nationalities, religions, political affiliations, sexual orientations and gender identities. For more information about the Ethical Society of Police, visit www.esopstl.org.
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