Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023 | 2 a.m.
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I am extremely proud to have been born and raised in, and now work for, one of the greatest and safest cities in America.Our safety is thanks to the exemplary services of our Henderson Police Department officers and personnel.
We know community safety is a top priority for Henderson residents and businesses. Led by our new chief of police, Hollie Chadwick, and with the support of our mayor and city council, the honorable work of the Henderson Police Department and its dedicated officers have resulted in a greater than 93% satisfaction rate among our surveyed residents — well above the regional and national averages. Nearly 60% of our city’s general fund is dedicated to public safety and 75% of our new hire budget is allocated for first responders.
To maintain a safe community and these outstanding service levels for our residents and businesses, we continue to strive to recruit the best and brightest candidates, both locally and across the country, who rise to the challenge to live our values and work hard to maintain our designation as one of the safest cities in America. Unfortunately, we are also beginning to experience the trend of staffing shortages affecting law enforcement agencies nationwide due to retirements, attrition and difficulties recruiting police officers.
In the past two years, the Henderson Police Department has hired 96 police officers, with more to come. The department graduated 11 recruits on Oct. 26, and each will now head into 22 weeks of field training. Another academy class began in September with 14 recruits and an anticipated March 2024 graduation date. Once a candidate is hired, training takes nearly one year before a recruit can work the streets. We currently have over 50 open police positions and an approximate 14% vacancy rate.
Although these vacancies have not created any safety issues or negatively affected the services our residents have come to expect, we must continue to take a proactive posture.
At the Nov. 7 city council meeting, staff intend to introduce a program called (Re)Hiring Our Heroes that will allow us to (re)hire retired police officers to fill a variety of officer positions within the police department. In addition, this proactive effort enables the city, as an employer, to protect the health and safety of our officers by minimizing required overtime and preserving work-life balance.
Per NRS 286.523, municipalities can rehire retired police officers only to fill a position for which there is a “critical labor shortage.” This is a temporary, two-year solution to boost our staffing levels with well-qualified and experienced (re)hired heroes.
(Re)hiring our heroes is one of several initiatives designed to bolster our recruitment efforts, including adding a new public safety recruitment specialist who will focus solely on hiring police officers and firefighters.
I am incredibly proud and genuinely appreciate the Henderson Police Department’s dedication to our city and its work in making us one of the safest cities in America.
I encourage anyone interested in a career in law enforcement with one of the top agencies in the country to connect with the Henderson Police Department to learn about a rewarding career in public service in our great city.
Richard Derrick has served as city manager for Henderson since July 2018.
