PPD staffing shortage is easing
By Terry Murry on Wednesday, May 3rd, 2023 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – Pendleton Police Chief Chuck Byram says he can see a light at the end of the tunnel as far as being short staffed is concerned. That includes his ability to hire two additional officers and help bring his community policing plan closer to reality. He said it’s not easy to find good people looking for careers in law enforcement.
“Finding the right fit for our agency is always a challenge, especially now that this profession – some justified, some unjustified – has been beat on for these last few years,” he said.
Byram said two officers are now at the 16-week police academy in Salem, and he’s offered two positions which have been accepted by Austin Greenfield who starts in June and one to Matthew Lopez who starts in July. In addition, Byram said he has three strong applicants that are still undergoing the vetting process. One will replace an officer who is moving out of the area to be closer to family.
“Hopefully, I can offer them jobs by the end of this month if not sooner,” he said. “We will finally be fully staffed pending anything that I’m unaware of right now.”
All of those newly hired officers will need to graduate the academy and undergo training at the local level.
“By this time next year we will have all those bodies out, solo, on the road, fully staffed, and then we will be able to implement the community policing grant that I got to fund the two extra positions,” he said.
