GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – It was a successful 2018 for the Green Bay Police Department, as crime numbers are down in many crime categories.
With the change of the calendar, comes a change in the department.
“We had a very difficult budget year here in Green Bay, and we are going to be down 14 police officers,” Chief Andrew Smith said.
That means Green Bay will go from 194 officers to 180.
He says may simple math alone, they are not going to be able to be in as many places.
“There is going to be fewer officers out on the street. It is going to be a challenge for all of us to keep that crime number trending in a downward direction.”
2019 will also open the door for some new officers.
“We are planning on hiring as many as six in January, so we are going to try to keep it at 180.”
Smith says they do not need to rush to fill the spots.
“We have had a series of retirements this year and we did not fill those spots, so right now we can hire to attrition.”
As always, Smith says taking their time is very important.
“We are going to pick the top candidates and not just settle on someone to fill a spot.”
Smith says they get a candidate pool from all over the region.
