In less than two months, the Lynchburg Police Department will make significant changes in the way its officers patrol the city.
Currently, the city is divided into three geographical patrol divisions and officers work during three eight-hour shifts. Starting Aug. 5, however, three divisions will turn into two that are subdivided into smaller sections, and the shifts will expand to 12 hours.
The hope is this restructuring will create better solidarity among officers, who will work with each other and for the same supervisors, said Capt. Jerry Stokes. And the officers will be working in the same communities, which should bolster community-policing efforts as residents get to know the men and women patrolling their neighborhoods.
“The same officers will work the same neighborhoods,” Stokes said. “People will consistently see the same faces and build up a relationship with folks.”
Stokes said the conversion will provide better coverage in problem areas of the city and allow for more officers on duty during the hours when more calls for police occur.
The city is currently divided into three patrol divisions. The East Division is comprised mostly of downtown and ends just west of Hollins Mill Road and Kemper Street areas. The South Division is comprised of the areas to the south of Lakeside Drive including the Wards Road business area. The North Division is mostly on the opposite side of Lakeside Drive and includes the Boonsboro area and parts of Rivermont Avenue.
Under the new divisions, east will no longer exist and will be divided between the North and South divisions.
Those two divisions will be separated into four platoons, which will each have two supervisors and a compliment of officers who will work two 12-hour shifts.
A third division, called the Metro Division, will work a fixed shift of 3 p.m. to 3 a.m., the hours in the city when the most calls for service happen, Stokes said. The use of the Metro Division will boost the number of officers during the heaviest times and will be used to target areas of the city that experience more crime problems.
“It’s an extreme enhancement to what we are doing,” Stokes said.
The officers will have rotating days off and will still work a total of 160 hours per month each.
The beat system should allow for routine interaction between officers and the community and should improve response time to calls, Stokes said.
Chief Parks Snead said, “We hope it will work out quite well,” said. “Surrounding jurisdictions do a form of a 12-hour shift. We are hearing they really like it. We’re hoping this will be a good fit for everybody.”
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