ODESSA, Texas —
When people hear there’s an officer shortage in their city, they usually assume that their city’s police department is stretched thin or can’t keep up with calls.
According to the Odessa Police Department, in Odessa, that isn’t the case.
“Our department is battling a staffing shortage, just like every agency, not only in the state of Texas but throughout the nation. Every officer I talked to from other cities, they battle the same thing," said Corporal Marshall Williams, background investigator and recruiting officer for OPD. "In regards to being short staffed, I feel like our department handles our calls for service very well, our crime stats have gone down. The patrol officers that we have out there on the streets, they go above and beyond their job to make sure that they're enforcing those laws and making sure that their citizens are safe and protected.”
Williams said we live in a time where not as many people want to become a police officer, especially in a city like Odessa with the presence of the oil and gas industry.
However, that doesn't stop them from reaching out to as many people as possible when out recruiting.
“A lot of people will go work the oil field for that fast, easy money and at the end of the day I always call it a job, and this here is what we have to offer is more of a career," Williams said. "We've gone to the next steps of trying to get raises for officers. We've actually gotten those raises to compete not only with the oil field, but with other agencies in the state of Texas. Starting off as a recruit and you're making at least $67,000 a year, give or take, and then once you become an officer, you get a pay raise on top of that.”
Those pay raise efforts seem to have paid off as well, according to Williams.
“It comes in waves just like with every job and profession. But here recently I'd say in the past year, year and a half, we've seen a major increase in people wanting to do this job; our recruit applications have skyrocketed, I believe,” said Williams.