NAMPA, Idaho (CBS2) — According to notes from a recent city council meeting, the Nampa Police Department needs more people on the force.
Nampa is currently home to 106,860 residents but Nampa City Council said the projected population will be more than 115,000.
Currently, 123 Nampa Police Officers serve this city. Lieutenant Eric Skoglund said the force plans to add 8 more next week.,
"I have been doing this job for 27 or 28 years and there is constant growth in the community, and now it's fairly rapid,” Lieutenant Skoglund said.
Lieutenant Skoglund said the Nampa Police Department is working with the city to make sure as the population increases, they have enough officers.
“Our desire or goal is to get to a 1.5 officer per thousand ratios because that number seems to be the most effective. It allows officers some free time to go out and be proactive but still handle the emergency response calls,” Lieutenant Skoglund said.
In the plan, City Council said in order to adequately provide police services to the projected population of 115,474, Nampa PD will need 173 officers and 82 support personnel.
Despite this, Lieutenant Skoglund said adding 41 new officers to the force will take some time.
“We are just working towards that there are obviously some limitations on how many you can train at a time and how long it takes to train them so it takes time to get officers on and close that gap where we need to be," Lieutenant Skoglund said.
Lieutenant Skoglund said he thinks it is important the department is properly staffed.
“We do think we need to add staffing in order to be responsive to the concerns of the community, in order to reduce crashes and handle the increase in traffic and do a little bit more enforcement in that regard," Lieutenant Skoglund said.
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