We like the changes being made in the Animal Control Department to give officers some guidance on what they can do to protect themselves physically and professionally.
The director, Marcus Graydon, told the Public Safety Committee recently that there was not much in the way of ground rules for the officers.
"There's not really anything in place right now," he said. "If we do have to use a little bit of force, we want to be backed up by what we can and cannot do."
Officers can use a baton but only on non-lethal areas -- unless things escalate -- and they can use pepper spray. But even with the spray, there are limitations on how many bursts of spray they can use and how long the bursts last.
"The only time we are to use those things is if we are retreating, and they are coming toward us," Graydon said. "There's no other option to do it."
There are a couple of key points here. One is that if an animal control officer thinks that his actions are going to trigger a run-in with a person, the protocol is to call the police in and let an officer monitor what's going on and intervene if necessary. Yes, let those professionals handle that type of situation, for sure.
The other is the use of a body-worn camera. Some volunteers with the department bought some of those and started wearing them just to see how they would help officers. The results have been positive.
"They are actually being beneficial to us in many ways because we get to actually see what we've done and how we can get better going on calls and just better protecting ourselves," Graydon said.
Those cameras will be useful in a number of ways. The officers know they are being recorded so there's an increase in accountability. And if a member of the public alleges that an officer did such and such, there will be a record of the event and evidence either supporting their allegation or refuting it.
These tools and techniques are likely overdue. Good for Graydon to take the initiative to make these changes happen. Just like with a police officer, an animal control officer's day-to-day experience is probably rather mundane most of the time. But for those times when things take an ugly turn, these servants will be better prepared.