INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department is launching a new pilot after officers overwhelmingly supported testing out a 10-hour shift model, WRTV reported.
With the new model, officers will work five 10-hour shifts, followed by three days off. Then they will work four 10-hour shifts followed by four days off, according to the report. The plan will allow officers 37 more days off every year, as well as fewer consecutive workdays.
Previously, IMPD operated with 8.5-hour shifts, where officers worked six days in a row with a three-day weekend.
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The plan was developed in conjunction with the local chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police. Officers also got to vote on whether they wanted to try the new schedule. The overwhelming majority voted “yes,” according to the report.
The work day is divided into four staggered shifts:
- Day: 6:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
- Middle: 11:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
- Late‑TAC: 4:30 p.m. – 2:30 a.m.
- Late: 9:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m.
The staffing overlap during mid-day is meant to ensure adequate coverage during peak call hours, according to the report.
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The department hopes that having longer weekends and putting more officers on duty during the busiest hours will allow officers more time to focus on family and other activities and improve officer wellness.
“The officers can support each other and better support our community. [If] more officers [are] working, then maybe the same officers don’t have to go to the second shooting scene on that particular day. They can patrol a neighborhood, have an opportunity to do a foot patrol, interact with a community member, visit a school, those types of things, instead of going to those same kinds of trauma.”
If you had the choice, would you pick an 8-hour or 10-hour shift model — and why? Share with us below:
