Springdale Police Department Gets Grant

Grant Money To Pay For Seven Additional Officers

SPRINGDALE -- Elementary school children spent time and developed relationships with Springdale police officers during a summer program. A new grant could help the Police Department further those efforts.

Department officials learned Monday they are receiving a $563,094 Community Oriented Policing Services grant, said Kathy O'Kelley, police chief. The grant is from the U.S. Department of Justice.

By The Numbers (w/logo)

Springdale Police Department

• 133: Officers in the department now

• 54: Civilian staff members

• $7,823,150: Salary budget in the department for calendar year 2014

• $14,070,580: Overall budget in the department for calendar year 2014

Source: Kathy O’Kelley, Springdale Police Chief

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For more information about the grant the Springdale Police Department received, go to: http://www.cops.usd….

The money will pay for seven more police officers for three years, O'Kelley said. Officials plan to select seven experienced officers to become neighborhood officers based out of elementary schools in the Springdale School District. Replacement officers will be hired after a test Nov. 1.

Seventy-five percent of the officers' time will be obligated to the schools, while the rest will be spent in the communities and neighborhoods surrounding the schools, O'Kelley said. Officers will help form neighborhood watch groups and organize evening programs focused on topics like home safety and vehicle operations.

"The whole idea is building relationships within that community," she said.

The department's summer program, Summer Sandbox, was similar, said Kathy Morledge, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning grades pre-kindergarten through seventh. The program was organized around schools that offered lunches to children. Officers would go to a different school each week and play games with the children.

"It's community policing at its best," she said.

Some children may be afraid of police officers because of stories they have heard or because they've seen someone get arrested, Morledge said. Contact with police officers at school can help children learn that police are good people who can help them.

District and police officials are still working on details, such as which schools officers will be based out of, Morledge said. Some options are Jones, Bayyari, Parson Hills, Elmdale and Lee elementary schools, said Capt. Mike Peters of the Springdale Police Department.

Officers won't be sent to schools and neighborhoods until the summer of 2015, O'Kelley said. The intervening time will be used for hiring, training and working with the School District.

The additional officers will also help the department keep up with population growth within the city, said Mayor Doug Sprouse.

The department is obligated through the grant to pay a matching amount of $187,698, O'Kelley said. The money will come out of the department's salaries budget.

The department is also obligated to keep the seven officers in their positions for a year after the three-year grant runs out, O'Kelley said. Officials hope there will be an increase in sales tax over the next few years, which could pay the officers' salaries.

Officials will watch the department's budget over the next few years so they can anticipate what they will need to do to pay for the officers after the grant money runs out, Sprouse said. Officials won't be able to hire replacements for future retirees if there isn't enough money to pay the seven officers.

This isn't the first time the department has received a similar grant, Sprouse said. The last one was two to three years ago and allowed the department to hire several officers. The city has always been able to keep the officers hired through grants.

NW News on 10/01/2014

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