Butler County police departments need more young officers. Why are they harder to find? - Hamilton Journal News

Posted: 12 Jul 2019 04:59 AM PDT

BUTLER COUNTY —

Many Butler County police departments are getting younger as older officers either move on or retire.

One-third of the 58 police officers on Fairfield's force have less than five years experience, which is the department's largest group, said Maj. Greg Valandingham. Just less than one-third of Fairfield's police officers are those with 15 to 20 years experience, and less than 20 percent have more than 25 years experience.

While Valandingham said it's "a very good mix" of young and old police officers, it shows hiring is cyclical. And he said fewer people applying to be police officers.

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"I think most departments would say this, or confirm this, there are fewer people taking tests now than there were before," he said. "I don't know if it's a generational thing, or maybe law enforcement isn't as appealing as it was."

There were about 701,000 full-time sworn police officers nationwide as of 2016, roughly a 23,000-officer decline from 2013, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The drop came after 16 years of steady growth in policing.

Valandingham said the number of people taking the National Testing Network police officer test is down, and thus the Fairfield department is getting fewer candidates. It could be due the negative media coverage that law enforcement has received in the past several years, but Valandingham said it could be the younger generation is just interested in something else.

"They aren't necessarily shying away from policing because of negative connotations," he said. "I just think they're maybe more interested in more technical types of jobs. So the numbers aren't what they used to be in terms of people taking the test. However, in the last few years, the quality of people that (we) have hired has gone up quite a bit."

While Fairfield has transitioned from administering its own test to the National Testing Network, the Middletown Division of Police still administers its test. And Police Chief Rodney Muterspaw said they "recruit harder than we ever had" and it is getting "harder and harder" to recruit.

"It's getting younger; it's a different type of generation," Muterspaw said. "There are some really good young ones coming up that we really like, but man our department's the same way (as Fairfield). I have three majors, all that could walk out the door tomorrow and retire if they wanted to."

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But Muterspaw said his department's problem isn't a lack of the number of candidates. Its most recent test produced 60 applicants, but only four made it through the process, which includes a panel interview, background check and polygraph, and formal interview.

Not being able to pass the polygraph or go beyond the panel interviews "is a problem," he said.

The four candidates that made it through the process will be hired, Muterspaw said, because they are quality candidates — and all are in their 20s.

"It's crazy because people just can't pass the polygraph," he said. "They're not being truthful, or (say) things we can't ignore or turn our heads away. We can't lower our standards."

Muterspaw said what's also likely a cause in the decline the number of quality applicants is social media.

"Social media is a great thing, but it's also killed applicants because they're like, 'Man, I don't want to see my face plastered all over Facebook or Twitter or Instagram if I mess up.' And that scares people, and recruits have told us that," he said.

Fairfield Twp. hired nine new officers since March 2018, all in their late 20s or younger. Those new hires make up nearly half of the township department's authorized strength of 21, said Capt. Doug Lanier.

And having a younger police force is not necessarily bad, he said.

"We're just looking for good officers," Lanier said. "We're looking for the best person that will make the best employee, regardless of their age."

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But what's difficult for departments right now is retention, Lanier said.

"Some people, they get into law enforcement and they realize it's not for them and they get out," he said. "A lot of people transfer departments, whether it's for family, better pay, better benefits."

Lanier said they also leave departments because they want a different work environment, either busier or less busy department, or an urban or rural department.

"It really depends on the individual of what they're looking for," he said.

As younger officers have been hired on, policing has also evolved.

"We look to hire people who have a service-orientation mindset," Valandingham said. "We don't view ourselves as a traditional law enforcement agency in that we don't arrest our way out of every problem — we expect our officers to be problem-solvers."

Hamilton police officer Jim Beeler, who retired on July 4, said he tells younger officers to "kill people with kindness."

"The nicer you are to people, the more respectful and nicer they are back, and incidents don't escalate," he said. "Bad things are easier, and really bad things aren't as bad if you show people a little bit of kindness."

Lanier said while it is "challenging to find good, quality employees" departments are still "accountable to the community."

"There are multiple areas of what police officers are supposed to do, as far as engagement with the community and everything else," he said.

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Fewer police officers

There are fewer full-time sworn law enforcement officers now nationwide after 16 years of growth:

1997: 648,688

2000: 656,645

2003: 683,599

2007: 700,259

2013: 724,690

2016: 701,169

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics; U.S. Department of Justice

'Yellowstone': Malcolm Beck Begins to Cause Trouble (RECAP) - TVInsider

Posted: 10 Jul 2019 08:05 PM PDT

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Season 2, Episode 3 of Yellowstone, "The Reek of Desperation."]

Welcome to Yellowstone, Neal McDonough. And oh, Malcolm Beck is definitely going to be a problem.

Both Jamie (Wes Bentley) and Dan (Danny Huston) have a lot to think about in Wednesday's episode. But neither really has a choice in the decisions they must make, not when it comes to family, in Jamie's case, and business, in both cases.

Meanwhile, Kayce's (Luke Grimes) career is shaping up, mainly because John (Kevin Costner) is determined that it will, but his personal life could use a little work — especially since Monica's (Kelsey Asbille) physical therapist looks ready to step up if she decides she's looking for a new man.

But hey, at least none of those people got bear spray in their eyes.

Kayce Still Has a Long Way to Go

Kayce still needs to learn how to manage the cowboys on the ranch, and as Rip advises him, that means not asking them if they have any questions. Give them their orders, and that's that.

(Paramount Network)

He especially needs to keep that in mind for his future, considering John wants him to take over as Livestock Commissioner in about 15 years. It's how he can protect the ranch, and it doesn't matter if he can't pass a polygraph or a psychological evaluation. (When John wonders why he thinks that about the latter, Kayce's answer is simple: "My whole life.")

So, really, he's pretty much set in that regard — and that's a sore spot with Monica when he visits her and Tate in their new apartment. "I don't know how to do this," he admits. "I don't know how to not be with you or not talk to you. You're my wife. You're my best friend. You're my only friend." She feels the same, but she also knows something had to change, and him leaving (even though she asked him to) and going to work for his father was not what she had in mind.

She wanted him to fight for the life he wanted. "You wanted something different, you should've asked for something," he says before leaving.

It's Time to Play Dirty ...

Soon after Dan and Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) sign a deal for a new casino, Malcolm gets wind of it and easily comes up with a way to make Dan reconsider.

(Paramount Network)

"You must be the guy ... that f---ed with John Dutton," Malcolm comments as he and his brother, Teal (Terry Serpico), join Dan as he examines his plans for the casino. "I understand learning not to do that was a painful lesson." (And Dan still has the bruised neck to show it.) Malcolm and John have never crossed paths because they know that to thrive in Montana, they must each stay in their lanes — and that's something that Dan needs to learn, considering his recent deal.

Though Dan refuses to be bullied, even as the Beck brothers detail how he'll probably be screwed over in this deal since they'd do the same to him in a similar situation, he doesn't really have a choice. He has to get out of the deal with Rainwater and make a new one with the brothers because Malcolm is the head of the Montana Liquor Board, and not only will he revoke their liquor license, he'll never issue one for the new casino.

... But Not Everyone's Willing To

Jamie is no longer running opposed for attorney general, and that means he needs to learn what's needed from someone running for office. Essentially, holding the office requires integrity and honor, while campaigning does not. Winning is what matters, and for Jamie to win, he needs funding — and his only option at the moment is Rainwater. But he doesn't know if he can handle his campaign being funded by his father's enemies. And if he's having trouble with where that money comes from, he'll never be able to make it in office.

He needs to think, and he goes to see Beth (Kelly Reilly). Though it takes a bit of time for him to get to his dilemma — he asks her to "resemble something human" and give him guidance as part of her family — he tells her about Rainwater's offer to be a donor for his campaign. In return, she makes it clear that he really shouldn't be running.

(Paramount Network)

"You're not a politician," she tells him. "Politicians believe they can manage people's lives better than they can. The best politicians are narcissists. The very best should probably be committed. You aren't that. You don't know who you are, and you're looking for the world to tell you." What he needs to do is think about the people in his life other than himself and "do what's best for them."

And what's best for them is him withdrawing from the race. (Doing so also means he loses Christina, because she knows he's going to go home and work with his family.)

Jimmy Can't Catch a Break

Jimmy (Jefferson White) and Avery (Tanaya Beatty) are out on a supply run when he runs into a couple of his old associates. And when he refuses to buy them ammonia and acetone, they chase after him to his truck. Avery uses bear spray to get rid of them, but considering he (stupidly) told them where he works, they're probably going to be trouble in the future.

Everyone's Definition of Family Is Different

John and Lynelle (Wendy Moniz-Grillo) may not have their choice for attorney general in common anymore (and their relationship, casual as it is, looks to be over), but they do have a few other similarities.

(Paramount Network)

"We don't have families," she tells him. "We have employees we're related to. Can you name the last time that you had a conversation with one of your children about how their day went or how they feel or what they dream of? Yeah, I can't either."

And they also know that they'll never fall in love again, either. "That's supposed to be the only thing you live for," she points out. "Then you have children, and the living for yourself part's all over," he agrees.

It appears John takes those conversations to heart, considering he asks Beth how her day was over dinner at the end of the episode. (We can't blame her for thinking he wants an update on business.) "Sobriety is bliss," she says. And Kayce's? When he has a day worth talking about, he will. And when Jamie joins them, fresh from dropping out of the race for attorney general, Beth prepares him a plate of grilled octopus.

Yellowstone, Wednesdays, 10/9c, Paramount Network

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