• Sunday, April 17, 2016 Enterprise Editor Virginia Hutchins [ 208-735-3242 • vhutchins@magicvalley.com ] • X1
THE BIG STORY
Cassia County sheriff’s deputy David Potter talks to a driver during a routine traffic stop April 4 in Burley.
DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS
TOO FEW IN BLUE
Anti-police Sentiment, Legalized Pot Contribute to Idaho’s Law Enforcement Student Decline LAURIE WELCH lwelch@magicvalley.com
URLEY • Samantha White was in preB school making snowmen out of marshmallows when her little sister, who had cerebral palsy, started choking on one of the gooey treats. A boy in the class piped up and said he hoped she’d die. “I stood up and I knew that I wanted to protect her,” said White, now enrolled in the law enforcement program at the College of Southern Idaho. White knew in the eighth grade that she wanted to be a cop, but she’s one of a declining number of people in Idaho choosing a career in law enforcement. Anti-police sentiment and neighboring states’ legalized marijuana are contributing to a dramatic reduction in enrollment numbers in Idaho law enforcement programs. The decrease in new officers can leave departments scrambling to fill vacancies, especially in small communities that struggle to compete with larger cities’ wages. And manpower shortages keep cops on the job more hours a day, increasing stress in an already stressful environment. It’s a troubling trend. CSI’s law enforcement enrollment numbers this spring are half of what they were two years ago, program director Don Hall said. “That trend is not just happening at this school, it is happening across the state.” Enrollment in Idaho State University’s program has continually dropped during the past five years. This spring was the first time in 18 years that there were no new students, said Cal Edwards, who oversees the program. When the economy is good, he said, fewer people seek training of any kind — and fewer people become officers. “You can go into food processing and make $30,000 a year. That’s an entry-level wage at many departments,” Hall said. “So why would you choose to go into a profession where you are constantly scrutinized
More Inside
DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS
Samantha White listens intently during class March 15 in the College of Southern Idaho’s law enforcement program. and placed in a hostile environment?” Hall and Edwards are revamping their programs to make them more appealing to candidates by shortening the 11-month patrol program to one semester. Hall hopes that is enough to fill the empty chairs and supply the demand from Idaho agencies struggling to hire entry-level officers. “What I’m really afraid of happening is the relaxing of standards because they have to have bodies on the streets,” Hall said. If law enforcement trainers can’t turn around the enrollment trend, they fear Idaho won’t have enough officers on the beat. “That’s a really scary thought,” Edwards said. “We are trying to do everything we can, including going to the schools and the military to recruit.” Two other Idaho colleges teach law enforcement. College of Western Idaho, with a new program this year, is at capacity
with 20 students. Northern Idaho College has about half of the number of students enrolled a year ago. CWI’s new program in the Treasure Valley isn’t the full explanation for enrollment drops in Twin Falls and Pocatello, program leaders say. Another option for law enforcement certification is the Idaho Peace Officers Standards and Training academy in Boise. POST drives the standards for all the law enforcement training programs in the state, and a 15-member council of Idaho police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors, correction and other law enforcement officials makes the rules and standards. The number of students attending POST academies has also dwindled, said Victor McCraw, POST division administrator. Lower revenues and fewer students meant a shift in 2014 from four academies to just three a year.
Economic Impact of Bats, B2 • 3 Cool Facts about Bats, B2 8 Bat Myths and Misconceptions, B2 • 14 Bats Species of Idaho, B4
Who still wants to wear the badge? At Magicvalley.com, see a photo gallery of law enforcement students in the classroom and on the gun range, and a ride-along with sheriff’s deputies.
The council made the decision after a sharp decline in students in 2010. Before that year, average annual enrollment hovered around 200. In 2010 it dipped to 144. In 2015, 149 patrol students attended POST. Please see DECLINE, B2
COMING MONDAY: • How to Build a Bat House
X2 • Sunday, April 17, 2016
Mini-Cassia Officers React to Decline in Recruits LAURIE WELCH lwelch@magicvalley.com
BURLEY • Idaho isn’t entirely buffered from national trends as police brutality is examined, racial tensions mount and cops are shot at an alarming rate. “Even though we are in Idaho, we still feel the tension because it is a national trend,” said George Warrell, Cassia County undersheriff, an officer of 26 years. “We are right on the interstate, and we deal with a lot of people who are not from Cassia County.” Mini-Cassia officials wonder how much the nation’s anti-cop sentiment contributes to a decline in the number of people interested in the career across Idaho. “If you can make more money doing something else for a living, why would you want to live in a glass house?” Warrell said. Social profiling boils down to training and what is tolerated within a department, Minidoka County Sheriff Eric Snarr said, and it is simply “not fair” for cops to socially profile. “It affects law enforcement across this nation,” he said. The public’s perception of cops is not what it once was, Warrell said. More people used to hold police in high esteem. Warrell, who came from a family of cops, always knew he wanted to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps. His grandfather was Burley’s chief of police, and his grandfather’s brother was the county sheriff. “Growing up I thought the world of my grandfather, and I always knew that’s what I wanted to do,” Warrell said. But he understands the struggle for some who are considering the profession. Fewer new officers certified in the past few years means agencies have to work harder to recruit and retain them. Minidoka County commissioners created a new patrol position for the sheriff’s department in October. During the first round of applications, only two certified officers applied, and one of those took a job in Twin Falls for higher pay. Snarr just filled the position this month. Smaller communities that pay lower wages are at a disadvantage recruiting and retaining officers, which represents a sizable investment once they are fully trained. Minidoka County even struggles when neighboring counties raise their pay rates, Snarr said. For Warrell, keeping up morale is instrumental to keeping good officers. “We are always trying to address that and keep it as high as we can because it affects the turnover rate. We want to keep our veteran officers here,” he said. How? “There’s no magic formula,” Warrell said. The sheriff ’s
DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS
Cassia County sheriff’s deputy David Potter, right, speaks with Sgt. Kenny Emery before Emery runs his K-9, Nikki, during an April 4 traffic stop in Burley. administration works to create a “family unit” within the department so everyone works together toward common goals. Committees consisting of officers weigh in regarding promotions when the department hires new employees, so officers feel like they are a part of the decision making. While hiring patrol officers is difficult, Warrell said, hiring at the jail is even harder. “It is a very rough environment. You come in to work and deal with very violent people. And they don’t like law enforcement to begin with; it’s tough,” Warrell said. One Cassia jail officer has been assaulted twice in a month. Those stresses come with low pay, he said, and that makes officer retention difficult. Heyburn Police Chief Dan Bristol, who has been a police officer for 22 years, said his department has not struggled recruiting officers because it tends to hire out of a strong reserve officer pool. The department requires that reserves have at least a Level II certification, which allows Bristol to put them to work more. That keeps up their interest, he said, and provides a ready pool of potential employees when a position opens. Warrell said the technology used in law enforcement is usually a draw for new recruits.
DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS
Cassia County sheriff’s deputy Terry Higley runs his dog, Lexis, during an April 4 training exercise in Burley. He remembers the first dash cameras from the 1990s. “They were a full-size video cassette recorder with suction cups that attached to the glass,” Warrell said. “Once during a pursuit I hit the railroad tracks and the camera moved clear up to the
top of the glass. You could hear me talking, but you could only see the ceiling on my car.” When Bristol started his career as a police officer, his computer had no copy-and-paste function, so it took an hour or two to write a report. He used stencils to draw
Decline
Law Enforcement Enrollment
Continued from B1
People choosing a career in law enforcement can attend one of the four college programs or pay to attend the POST academy. Or they can get hired by a law enforcement agency before being certified; they then have a year to get certified at POST, and the hiring agency usually picks up the tab. College courses used to enjoy a benefit over the POST academy: The college students get to go home every night. That’s attractive to single parents and others who couldn’t afford to be away from home for 10 weeks to attend the academy. But to attract more students, in fall 2015 the council opened the POST campus too, McCraw said. That allows those living close to the academy to make the drive every day. The change also eliminated some dorm and meal costs for the program, an important factor because POST has seen a dip in revenue from fines and tickets.
Reasons for the Enrollment Decline The Idaho economy, low pay, strict state standards, age and anti-cop culture all seem to play a role in the enrollment dip across the state. The intense scrutiny officers are always under, starting with the day they apply to a program, also deters a few candidates. Few professions require the
out crash diagrams. Things have changed a lot since those days, Warrell said, and the changes for the most part are good ones the younger generation will likely find attractive.
STEPHEN REISS, TIMES-NEWS
Twin Falls Police Department Sgt. Brent Wright, left, watches cadet Andrew Woolsey, right, during a two-shot reload drill at the TFPD gun range March 17. clean living, honesty and morality that law enforcement requires, and finding candidates that meet the strict standards is becoming tougher. Hall said the increase in people experimenting with drugs has kept otherwise good candidates out of CSI’s program. Some nearby states have legalized marijuana — for recreational as well as medical use in Oregon, Colorado and Washington — but Idaho’s rules for admission into a law enforcement program include no use of marijuana in the past
three years and no habitual use in the past five years. Hall recently had a good candidate from Colorado who used marijuana 10 months ago. Though marijuana use is legal where the candidate lived at the time, he now has to wait more than two years to be accepted into the Idaho program. Police officers can drink alcohol and get into a wreck and probably be punished with a few days off work, McCraw said, but if they smoke marijuana in their living room without putting anyone else
in danger they can lose their career. Marijuana standards for police officers will definitely be a topic of discussion for the POST council in the next couple of years, McCraw said. Many people don’t appear interested in a long-term career anymore, said Larry McGhee, a law enforcement instructor at CSI. McCraw agreed: “Today young people will have multiple jobs, and they don’t want to go to work at one place and stay there.” Age also plays a role. CSI law enforcement student
College of Southern Idaho Spring 2014: 19 Spring 2015: 14 Spring 2016: 9 Idaho State University Spring 2014: 14 Fall 2014: 8 Spring 2015: 14 Fall 2015: 7 Spring 2016: 0 North Idaho College Spring 2014: 12 Fall 2014: 7 Spring 2015: 16 Fall 2015: 10 Spring 2016: 9 College of Western Idaho (new program) Fall 2015: 20
Andrew Woolsey said he knew as a high school junior he wanted to be a cop. But Idaho standards dictate that a person has to be 21, which probably discourages a few high school graduates who want to start career training immediately. McCraw said many agencies will hire a candidate slightly younger than 21; the agency then has a year to get the person certified and for the age requirement to be met. Please see DECLINE, B3
Sunday, April 17, 2016 • X3
What It Takes to Get into CSI’s Law Enforcement Training Program Idaho Peace Officer Standards and Training sets the standards for law enforcement certification. So students at the College of Southern Idaho’s training program must meet these state standards: 1. Be 21 or older. 2. Pass criminal history background check. 3. Pass background check on driving history. 4. Pass medical exam; if there is a question of emotional stability or disorder indicated by the physician, the applicant must be evaluated by a psychologist. The use of antidepressants or mental health issues could delay or prohibit entry into the program. 5. Pass physical agility test. 6 . Pa s s review of military record. 7. Meet character standards for honesty, justice and morality; answer questionnaire on past history truthfully. 8. Meet standards for vision and hearing that include vision no worse than 20/200 without
glasses. If the applicant wears contacts, the vision must be corrected to 20/20 in one eye and no worse than 20/60 in the weakest eye. 9. Pass polygraph test. 10. Pass aptitude test. 1 1 . P a s s ra n d o m i z e d drug testing. 12. Submit fingerprints. 13. Hold high school diploma or equivalent. An applicant may be rejected: 1. If he or she has used marijuana in the past three years; while employed as a law enforcement officer or prosecutor or in a position of public safety; or on a regular basis within the past five years. 2. If he or she has used other illegal controlled substances within the past five years; while as an officer or prosecutor or in a position of public trust; or on more than a minimal or experimental basis during his or her lifetime. 3. For any unlawful use of prescription drugs within the past three years. 4 . Fo r drug trafficking,
manufacturing or related offenses. 5. For juvenile felony drug offense convictions; juvenile records will be unsealed. 6. For misdemeanor convictions of sex crimes and crimes of deceit, unless the conviction was more than five years prior to the application. 7. If he or she has been convicted of a misdemeanor DUI offense within the past two years or two or more misdemeanor DUIs within the past five years. 8. For certain other misdemeanor convictions if they o c c u re d w i t h i n s p e c i f i e d time frames. 9. If convicted of any felony crime. Once a person completes the training and is certified, the hiring law enforcement agency may perform another round of background checks that may include credit history and knocking on neighbors’ doors to discuss the applicant’s character and behavior. —Laurie Welch
DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS
Cadet Andrew Woolsey listens during class March 15 at College of Southern Idaho.
Twin Falls Police Department cadets fire at targets during a two-shot reload drill at the department’s gun range March 17.
STEPHEN REISS, TIMES-NEWS
Decline Continued from B2
Hall said the anti-cop culture that seems so prevalent across the country likely also plays into the declining Idaho enrollment. Two years ago Ferguson, Mo., a St. Louis suburb, became known for racial upheaval after a police officer shot an unarmed black man. The incident set off a national debate that put police conduct and racial profiling under scrutiny and increased violence toward police. During the first three months of 2016, the number of police officers killed in shootings more than doubled from last year, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. “I think most people have forgotten that police officers are human, that we still bleed,” White said. Citizens are not willing to extend the benefit of the doubt to officers, although the number of bad officers is actually low, McCraw said. “We’d like that number to be zero.” It seems like only the bad conduct of police officers is portrayed in the media, Woolsey said. “That stops some people from wanting to become a police officer.” Today there are higher standards for selection than ever before and stricter accountability, Hall said. He tells his students they will always be scrutinized through the use of body and dash cameras and on cellphone videos taken from the corner. National news media, Edwards
Laurie Welch, a Times-News reporter in Mini-Cassia, has covered the cops and courts beat for nearly two decades.
DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS
Law enforcement instructor Larry McGhee talks about defunct neighborhood watch programs during class March 15 at College of Southern Idaho. said, have “really hammered police lately.” And that affects the morale of both students and the officers on the streets. “I tell them it is part of the culture today and in the end it will prove out how appropriate and professional we are,” Hall said. All the scrutiny gets the cadets ready for what lies in wait on the job. “I try to be fairly blunt, but you can scare them away,” Hall said. “It’s an honorable profession. I don’t sugarcoat it, but I try not to make it doomsday either.”
It is also a fun profession, Hall said. When he has students out on the gun range learning to shoot under blue skies when their peers are stuck in offices, he makes sure they note it. But police officers also see, up close, mankind being its worst to other human beings. For some students it means finding out the career is not for them, and that’s good to learn before they are on the streets, Hall said. During every POST academy, McCraw asks the cadets how many lost family and friends
when they announced they wanted to be a cop. Every time, he said, hands go up. “It’s not cool with your friends if you want to be a police officer, especially if you’re shot at and cussed at on the news,” McCraw said. “We always have five or six that say they are not welcome at the Thanksgiving table anymore. That’s huge.” It’s the honor of the job, he said, that draws them in.
What It Takes to Wear the Blue
Law enforcement candidates are in short supply, but that doesn’t mean everyone is welcome. Even submitting the application to a training program can be daunting. The process starts with extensive background checks into criminal history, including DUI and traffic offenses, past drug use, fingerprinting and oral interviews. Candidates must be at least 21 and U.S. citizens. They must meet medical, hearing, physical fitness and mental health standards. Applicants are questioned extensively about whether they have ever participated in the sales or manufacturing of any drug, and whether they ever had sex with an underage person or viewed underage pornography. “That is a real issue today,” Hall said. Any felony conviction disqualifies them. Please see DECLINE, B4
DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS
Cassia County sheriff’s deputy David Potter takes notes at the station while speaking with an alleged victim before proceeding to a more serious interview April 4.
Decline Continued from B3
They also fill out questionnaires regarding past behavior, including juvenile behavior. Juvenile criminal records will be unsealed, and all the applicant’s answers must be truthful from the start — those answers will be confirmed with a polygraph test. “If you stole a piece of bubble gum when you were 7 years old, that’s not what we’re looking for,” Hall said. But you must be honest about it. A police officer who lies isn’t tolerated. “If you are caught lying under oath, you’ve ruined your career,” Hall said. “You cannot have a police officer’s integrity challenged.” For many students the polygraph is the most daunting part of the process. “It was absolutely terrifying to be hooked up to all those machines,” White said. “My hands were sweating and you can’t move.” All law enforcement officers have to pass a certification test after training. Once hired by an agency, the officer will likely go through an ever tougher round of investigations that includes credit checks and people knocking on their neighbors’ doors to determine their moral character. “Finding good applicants is really tough,” McGhee said. “Honesty is in short supply.”
Small Communities Hit Hardest There is little doubt that smaller Idaho communities will feel the shortage of new officers the most. They cannot compete for the veteran officers who command higher wages in the state’s larger cities. The city of Boise has the highestpaid police officers — and the most veteran officers, Hall said. The Boise Police Department’s starting wage for a police officer is $49,816; the officer would start at $38,922 in Twin Falls and $31,200 in Cassia County. “Small agencies continually turn people over and over,” Edwards said. McCraw said the biggest danger for agencies is several veteran police officers retiring at the same time, leaving the agency with multiple positions to fill — and a lot of rookies on the streets. “You run into a real deficit in experience, that’s the real danger. You can’t replace experience. You need those experienced officers to train the newbies,” McCraw said. The upside of the manpower shortage is job security, he said. “The agencies have jobs for you.” This year, as two of the four college programs shift their patrol programs from three semesters to one, leaders will watch closely to see whether the condensed programs ultimately drive up the number of students choosing law enforcement. For Woolsey, the choice was easy. “I want to be one person’s hero,” he said.
DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS
Director Don Hall talks about declining class sizes in College of Southern Idaho’s law enforcement program.
STEPHEN REISS, TIMES-NEWS
A cadet fires a round during a two-shot reload drill at the Twin Falls Police Department gun range March 17.
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April 17, 2016
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TOO FEW IN BLUE
Anti-police sentiment and neighboring states’ legalized marijuana are contributing to a dramatic reduction in enrollment numbers in Idaho law enforcement programs. The decrease in new officers can leave departments scrambling to fill vacancies, especially in small communities that struggle to compete with larger cities’ wages. See the special report on B1.
DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS
Cadet Andrew Woolsey speaks up during class March 15 at the College of Southern Idaho. CSI’s law enforcement enrollment this spring is half of what it was two years ago.
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