Charleston Daily Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Leaders of the West Virginia Troopers Association say the State Police force is being stretched too thin to properly serve citizens and is asking the Legislature to beef up its ranks.
John Smith, president of the association, says 33 state police detachments in West Virginia currently contain five or fewer troopers who are required to provide 24-hour law enforcement services to the counties they protect. Twenty-six of those detachments have only four troopers.
“Because of that, we’ve seen a decrease in our statistics, with our clearance rates because we’re just not able to go out and investigate crimes anymore,” said Smith.
“We’re merely able to keep up the reporting of crimes.”
The trooper group is pushing a bill that would increase the number of state police in West Virginia to 800 and legally prohibit the force from falling below that level in the future.
The association recently purchased radio spots highlighting statistics about the State Police’s declining numbers and urging residents to get involved.
“This trend must be reversed in order to keep our streets safe,” the advertisement cautions.
“Please contact your state representative today and request that state trooper manpower be increased.”
The ads imply that the state is less safe because of the size of the State Police force. It says the state’s crime rate has risen in rankings of rates in all 50 states. One spot also highlights the high number of unsolved crimes, which it puts at 84 percent. Another spot says interstate rest stops are staffed as well as some State Police detachments.
West Virginia currently employs 682 state troopers, Smith said. However, 37 are cadets in training, and an additional 20 have been called into active military duty, leaving 625 to take care of business around the state.
In 2000, Smith said, West Virginia had more than 700 troopers.
“We just don’t have enough money to hire the manpower we need,” he said.
Dwindling ranks are not a problem unique to just the State Police.
According to a 2008 legislative audit, there are 1.69 law enforcement officers for every 1,000 residents in West Virginia. The national average is 2.5 officers per 1,000 residents.
In his State of the State address, Gov. Joe Manchin asked lawmakers to establish funding for six additional troopers to be dedicated to the Crimes Against Children’s Unit, doubling the number of state police officers in that statewide unit to 12.
Smith says specialized units are becoming more common across the state and while they serve important purposes, they also require specific training and manpower that can dilute troopers’ resources even further.
“Whether it be the crimes against children unit, the polygraph unit, the drug units around the state, those numbers ultimately decrease from our other responsibilities,” he said. “If you take from one area and don’t properly backfill it, it leaves a vacancy.”
Manchin spokesman Matt Turner said the governor is working to provide more support to the State Police on several fronts.
“In West Virginia, we recognize the importance of the State Police in our budget and have actually funded a new class of up to 20 cadets for this coming year, which will help to fill upcoming vacancies,” Turner said in an e-mailed statement.
Turner did not indicate whether the governor would support the bill pending in the state Senate that calls for trooper levels to be raised to 800.
Sen. John Unger, D-Berkeley, is one of the bill’s sponsors and says it falls directly in line with Manchin’s tough stance on tackling the state’s growing drug problem.
Last year, the governor helped kick off “Operation Eviction” in the state, a law enforcement program designed to rid West Virginia of out-of-state drug traffickers.
“If we’re serious about what the governor said about going after these (drug dealers), we need people to come after them,” Unger said.
He admits the legislation might have a tough time during such a tight budget year.
“It always comes down to dollars,” Unger said. “But it also comes down to priorities.”
Smith, meanwhile, remains optimistic that lawmakers will recognize the severity of the problem State Police are facing.
“It’s come to a point where it’s not only a safety issue for officers in the field, but it’s also beginning to affect the communities that we serve,” said Smith. “The citizens realize there’s not enough manpower for us to adequately provide the services we do provide.”
Copyright 2010 Charleston Daily Mail