Duluth Police Chief Mike Tusken aims to bring more horsepower and greater diversity to the ranks of local law enforcement in 2017. In 2016, his first year as chief, Tusken is facing a formidable staffing challenge that promises to push overtime costs beyond the Police Department's budget. While the city had hired 10 new officers at the start of the year, those new recruits needed to complete a 10-week police academy, followed by four to six more months of field training before they were cleared for unaccompanied service. As a result, Tusken was left with a significant staff shortage for more than half the year. "I knew going in that this was going to be a rough year just because we rarely start 10 down," he said. On top of that, the department also encountered a handful of injuries, pregnancies and other situations that compounded the shortage. "When you think of it in perspective, knowing that most of our patrol shifts have 16 to 17 officers on them, that's almost like eliminating one-fourth of my patrol workforce. So that's why I knew it would be a substantial hit, because we have to maintain minimum staffing to deliver the customer service that the citizens of Duluth expect but also to keep our officers safe," Tusken said. To date, the Police Department has accrued $547,295 in overtime, and with two months left to go, Tusken fully expects to blow past the $575,000 that was budgeted for overtime pay in 2016. "If we have significant events happen. We're not going to ever not respond to a homicide or a shooting or a terrible crime because of an overtime budget. Some of those costs are just driven by events," he said. "But by and large, the majority of the overtime expenditure we saw (this year) was to put officers into seats because we have to maintain staffing minimums. So, as a result, last year we were planning on hiring three people, but we ended up hiring 10, because there were a number of unforeseen staffing losses. Then add in three injuries, and you can see why that depleted my overtime budget rather rapidly, because in the patrol division we have to have minimums to operate safely," Tusken said. While the financial lure of overtime has usually been sufficient to fill shifts, Tusken said the department at times struggled to maintain desired staffing levels at the risk of officer burnout. "I think, generally, we're becoming much more healthy. We're trying to find a good work-life balance. You can't expect people to work around the clock, even if they're working for premium pay," he said. But help is on the way. Tusken said the Police Department usually announces a round of hires in January, but this year, he will push that up. Eight new officers are expected to join the force in time for Thanksgiving. "We hope that they'll be ready for solo patrol before the summer months, when we get the busiest," he said. Recruiting diversity In addition to bolstering the ranks of the Police Department, Tusken also hopes to bring more racial and gender diversity to the force. He noted that 10 officers hired earlier this year represented the most diverse class of police the city had ever recruited, with half of the new members being people of color.
But retaining new recruits has sometimes been a challenge. Two of the officers Duluth hired earlier this year already have left the force. Tusken acknowledged that getting people to relocate to Duluth long term can be tough, especially when they don't have ties to the area. He quipped: "'There's no place like home,' like Dorothy said." Duluth has sought to cast a wider net in order to increase the diversity of its police force but with mixed results. "Some of these folks come, they try it, and you acknowledge the fact that they had the courage to come out and leave their families behind. But oftentimes, there's still a draw that brings them home, back to their familiar surroundings and neighborhoods and families and friends. We understand that," Tusken said. However, he expressed optimism that other effective recruitment strategies can be developed. Toward that end, Tusken said he has directed his training unit to develop a mentorship program with the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, the University of Minnesota Duluth and the University of Wisconsin-Superior. "We have people who come here to attend college who aren't from here, and if they're invested enough to stay here for two or four years - that's a golden opportunity for us to use a mentorship/outreach program, so they feel that we are invested in them and so they will decide to stay here," he said. As for the current makeup of Duluth's police force, Tusken said that 142 of its sworn police officers are white, five are black, three are Native American, four are Asian and two are Hispanic. "We basically mirror the city of Duluth," he said of the department's racial makeup. But the department continues to skew toward men, with women officers making up just 13 percent of the force.Duluth Police Chief Mike Tusken aims to bring more horsepower and greater diversity to the ranks of local law enforcement in 2017.In 2016, his first year as chief, Tusken is facing a formidable staffing challenge that promises to push overtime costs beyond the Police Department's budget.While the city had hired 10 new officers at the start of the year, those new recruits needed to complete a 10-week police academy, followed by four to six more months of field training before they were cleared for unaccompanied service.As a result, Tusken was left with a significant staff shortage for more than half the year."I knew going in that this was going to be a rough year just because we rarely start 10 down," he said.On top of that, the department also encountered a handful of injuries, pregnancies and other situations that compounded the shortage."When you think of it in perspective, knowing that most of our patrol shifts have 16 to 17 officers on them, that's almost like eliminating one-fourth of my patrol workforce. So that's why I knew it would be a substantial hit, because we have to maintain minimum staffing to deliver the customer service that the citizens of Duluth expect but also to keep our officers safe," Tusken said.To date, the Police Department has accrued $547,295 in overtime, and with two months left to go, Tusken fully expects to blow past the $575,000 that was budgeted for overtime pay in 2016."If we have significant events happen. We're not going to ever not respond to a homicide or a shooting or a terrible crime because of an overtime budget. Some of those costs are just driven by events," he said."But by and large, the majority of the overtime expenditure we saw (this year) was to put officers into seats because we have to maintain staffing minimums. So, as a result, last year we were planning on hiring three people, but we ended up hiring 10, because there were a number of unforeseen staffing losses. Then add in three injuries, and you can see why that depleted my overtime budget rather rapidly, because in the patrol division we have to have minimums to operate safely," Tusken said.While the financial lure of overtime has usually been sufficient to fill shifts, Tusken said the department at times struggled to maintain desired staffing levels at the risk of officer burnout."I think, generally, we're becoming much more healthy. We're trying to find a good work-life balance. You can't expect people to work around the clock, even if they're working for premium pay," he said.But help is on the way.Tusken said the Police Department usually announces a round of hires in January, but this year, he will push that up. Eight new officers are expected to join the force in time for Thanksgiving."We hope that they'll be ready for solo patrol before the summer months, when we get the busiest," he said.Recruiting diversityIn addition to bolstering the ranks of the Police Department, Tusken also hopes to bring more racial and gender diversity to the force.He noted that 10 officers hired earlier this year represented the most diverse class of police the city had ever recruited, with half of the new members being people of color.
But retaining new recruits has sometimes been a challenge. Two of the officers Duluth hired earlier this year already have left the force.Tusken acknowledged that getting people to relocate to Duluth long term can be tough, especially when they don't have ties to the area.He quipped: "'There's no place like home,' like Dorothy said."Duluth has sought to cast a wider net in order to increase the diversity of its police force but with mixed results."Some of these folks come, they try it, and you acknowledge the fact that they had the courage to come out and leave their families behind. But oftentimes, there's still a draw that brings them home, back to their familiar surroundings and neighborhoods and families and friends. We understand that," Tusken said.However, he expressed optimism that other effective recruitment strategies can be developed.Toward that end, Tusken said he has directed his training unit to develop a mentorship program with the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, the University of Minnesota Duluth and the University of Wisconsin-Superior."We have people who come here to attend college who aren't from here, and if they're invested enough to stay here for two or four years - that's a golden opportunity for us to use a mentorship/outreach program, so they feel that we are invested in them and so they will decide to stay here," he said.As for the current makeup of Duluth's police force, Tusken said that 142 of its sworn police officers are white, five are black, three are Native American, four are Asian and two are Hispanic."We basically mirror the city of Duluth," he said of the department's racial makeup.But the department continues to skew toward men, with women officers making up just 13 percent of the force.
