Alabama’s Thin Blue Line is getting some help with the Thursday graduation of 10 officers from the Montgomery Police Academy .
The class of 14 began training 14 weeks ago, and 10 received their certificates in a ceremony at Montgomery City Hall. Three of the officers are with the Montgomery Police Department.
Departments nationwide are dealing with staffing shortages due to attrition and difficulty in attracting new officers. Crime has been a hot topic in Montgomery during a violent summer, and some perceive the city as unsafe.
Three new officers won’t solve the problem, but it’s a good start, said Interim Police Chief Jim Graboys.
“Three is a start, three are more than we had,” he said. “They are well-trained officers, well-prepared and ready to go to work, ready to serve.”
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The city is now hiring officers to address staffing issues. Officials with the city have been averse to commenting about how many open slots there are on the force. “There are several reasons why I would never give the exact number of our officers,” Graboys said, with a prime reason being security, he added.