Friday, January 08, 1999
Middletown officers object to new shifts
Police say plan will disrupt lives
BY JANET C. WETZEL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MIDDLETOWN — The rotating shifts for police officers here won't start until Sunday, but officers say their lives already are being handcuffed by the pending changes.
Because of the swing shifts, some officers' wives have had to give up their jobs, some officers will have to stop coaching their children's sports teams or give up part-time jobs, and others say time for their families and community involvement will be curtailed sharply.
“There's a somber pall hanging over the Middletown Police Department,” said Steve Winters, president of the Middletown Fraternal Order of Police (FOP). “At least 90 percent of the staff does not want this type of schedule. I think we're really having to start the new year off on the wrong foot.”
Bidding system ends
On Sunday the entire police department will switch from bidding on permanent shifts by seniority, which they have done for nine years, to working three rotating shifts — regardless of seniority. That same day the three majors — Mike Bruck, Mark Hoffman and Greg Schwarber — will switch positions, said Police Chief Bill Becker.
Chief Becker said the changes will help balance the senority and experience on the three shifts, balance time off and work load, enhance cooperation among department sections and reduce burnout.
But when he announced in early November that he would implement the shift changes for officers, supervisors, dispatchers and correction officers, employees expressed outrage. They said it will disrupt their lives and result in less-efficient service, more injuries and illness, and poor morale.
"Need to give it a try'
This week, Chief Becker said while he cannot say the proposal is welcomed, it is “understood that we're going to try it — and they accept it. ...
“I think this swing shift is a good way to go. We need to give it a good, hard try,” the chief said.
Mr. Winters said he's “glad (the chief) is optimistic about this. We're not. Hopefully the chief will realize by at least this time next year that this is not going to work. Other departments have proven that.”
Meanwhile, service to the community will continue uninterrupted, he said.
As for the rotation of the majors, Chief Becker said that annual change was something he began after becoming chief in 1995, to help create “new ideas, new energies and so nobody gets stagnant,” and helps “round out their careers.”
Maj. Schwarber will move from head of the detectives division to the services division, heading up the dispatchers area, jail and records, Chief Becker said. Maj. Bruck will move from head of the patrol division to replace Maj. Schwarber. And Maj. Hoffman will replace Maj. Bruck.
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