SL Council approves hiring of full-time officer
The first task Silver Lake Police Chief RJ Cripps was assigned, moments after being hired at the Feb. 16 City Council meeting, was to look at the organization and staffing needs of the police department.
The police department, for many years, has operated with a full-time chief and one full-time office for a total of 80 hours of coverage per week.
The department has used part-time officers to cover when needed.
The Council has discussed whether 80 hours of coverage is needed for the city, or if there was a possibility to run the department with a full-time chief and part-time officers, with the sheriff’s department covering the on-call time.
City Clerk Kerry Venier and Cripps met with the sheriff’s department, which declined to cover the additional call time as requested by the city.
For more see the March 23 print edition of The Chronicle.