BOZEMAN — In the last year, the Bozeman Police Department has been seeing some serious staffing issues as they try to keep up with a growing city.
“It’s probably one of the best, most tight-knit group of people I’ve ever been around,” said Dalton Dewitt.
Dewitt is one of the 3 new Bozeman Police officers sworn in at the public safety center on April 6.
He comes to Bozeman all the way from Virginia City Beach, Virginia.
Luckily, Dewitt ventured to Bozeman just in time to be working out of the new, spacious Public Safety Center.
The only issue, according to Bozeman Police Chief Jim Veltkamp is all the new room—but not enough staff.
“The city is growing so rapidly, and the authorized number of police officers we’ve been given have not kept up with this growth,” said Veltkamp.
As of right now, Bozeman PD is only allowed to staff 67 police officers to keep within a certain budget.
This is an issue that Veltkamp says affects their ability to patrol and be truly present in the community.
“When you see an officer not pull someone over for running a red light it’s because there's so many calls pending on their computer terminal and they have to prioritize certain things,” said Veltkamp.
And the Belgrade Police Department is no stranger to this struggle as well.
Deputy Chief David Keen has been with Belgrade Police for about 23 years. In that time, he says he’s seen some serious staffing struggles.
“To get new people here we’ve had to do some things we’ve never had to do before,” said Keen. “Like online solicitation for positions, looking for people way outside of the area, and of course pay increases.”
So why is it so hard to recruit new officers in Gallatin County?
“Cost of living is always an issue, and this job is clearly a difficult job,” said Keen.
And one that Keen says hasn’t been the most popular lately.
“It’s been a difficult thing to convince folks that this is still a good, honorable job,” said Keen.
However, he says the job will continue to attract the right people, who find purpose in serving their community—like newly sworn-in Dewitt.
“If you ever want to get out and make a difference and do something that’s different every day, being a police officer is that job,” said Dewitt.
