MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Police Chief Eric Powell recently told city council the department has an authorized strength of 76 officers but only has 55 sworn police officers with four others awaiting training at The West Virginia State Police Academy.
Powell said the department operates three shifts with 10 officers each to cover the 24-hour day. Each shift has 10 officers, at least two supervisors and the balance patrol zones and serve as a back up where needed.
So far this year the team of officers have responded to 20,448 calls for service with an average response time of 3.6 to 4.6 minutes since Jan. 1. The FBI average standard for response time is 10 minutes, according to Powell.
“I do believe strongly our officers are still providing top quality service when they’re out there doing their job,” Powell said. “I still believe they have a strong conviction for the things they’re doing.”
In addition to a new city website, the city continues an outreach effort that began in 2021 to potential candidates. Powell said they are always looking for places to find candidates and ways to get them through the hiring process.
“We changed our test to make a little more friendly and a little more up to date and we’ve added some guidance in taking the test that was not in existence prior to me becoming chief,” he said.
Recruiting and retention has been a difficult task across all law enforcement agencies regardless of location. Powell is in the process of developing incentives.
Powell also told city council the department’s morale is not as low as some media reports indicate.
“We actually just had an officer who left two months ago come back, so we’re in the process of getting him back onboard with the department,” Powell said. “I guess that’s a positive sign of things to come.”
Morgantown is turning to technology to help it improve security in other areas.
“We have purchased 43 high tech cameras for the downtown and wharf districts at a cost of $173,000,” said Morgantown City Manager Kim Haws. “This will enhance our public safety and give us a lot more accountability in the downtown area.”