Lanett city council discusses shortage of police officers

LANETT — At its Monday meeting, some members of the Lanett City Council questioned whether the city’s police department had enough patrol officers to ensure the peace and safety of the city.

For a long time now, the LPD has been facing a situation where young officers are hired, trained and sent to the police academy for certification as law enforcement officers. Once that happens, that officer usually leaves for a better-paying position in a nearby city. The council has talked about offering higher pay for its officers but has yet to take action on it.

The departure of certified officers continues. Police Chief Denise McCain on Monday told the council that Lanett is down to a total of ten patrol officers. The city has had as many as 27 officers at one time.

Council Member Angelia Thomas thanked the officers on having done their part in getting a new school year off to a smooth start but worried that the city could be getting itself into what her grandmother had once warned her about – a habit of either saying “I don’t know” or “I’m fixin’ to…”

“A leader should never say ‘I don’t know’ or ‘I’m fixin’ to’” Thomas said. “We have to change this. We cannot be the city we can be without some changes. We have got to get out of ‘fixin’ to’ to make something happen. We need to take back our city. We need to have more discipline and stronger law enforcement. We do not need to have shootings near churches. We need to do something about this. We can’t just let such things happen.”

Thomas said it was distressing that the shooting near Goodsell Methodist Church on North 6th Avenue in Lanett took place on a Sunday afternoon, just after a Back to School Bash had taken place on the previous day in the local area.

No one was injured in the shooting incident, but it has disturbed a lot of Lanett residents since it took place near a church on a Sunday afternoon. People who heard the gunfire say it sounded like an automatic weapon. There was a bang, another bang and a series of six or seven loud bangs in rapid succession.

Chief McCain said the police department was doing as it was supposed to, that such incidents were properly investigated and that charges had been brought. The problem, she said, was that juvenile authorities and the court system would smack an offender on the wrist and have them released.

“They can go back and do the same thing again,” she said. “We are arresting people we have arrested before.”

Thomas thanked her for what she’s been trying to do and asked her what can be done to turn around the current situation. “Some people think our law enforcement in Lanett is a joke,” Thomas said. “I know you are working with a skeleton crew. What do we need to do to change this?”

McCain said that it all comes down to better pay for the officers.

Lanett has two officers at the academy and another planning to go there.

If the city doesn’t offer more competitive pay, these officers could be heading someplace else should they graduate from the academy.

Thomas represents the city’s historic mill village area on the council. She said it bothers her for people to be driving fast on the mill village streets and suggested having these people ticketed. “If we start fining people that might make a difference,” she said. “We do not have to be at the point of saying ‘I don’t know’ or ‘We’re fixin’ to.’”

McCain again asserted that the police department was doing its job. “We can’t control what the courts or the juvenile authorities do,” she said. “We make the arrests and the cases. The judges let them right back out. It’s the same group of kids that are causing the trouble.”

Council Member Tony Malone said it all comes down to leadership. “I think we need to change it,” he said.

Thomas said she was speaking out for her constituents. “Things have been brought to my attention,” she said. “I am looking at different things that have been going on in the city.”

Changing the tone of the conversation, Council Member Tifton Dobbs thanked Rocky Bolt and the street department for the work they recently did in taking care of a long-time drainage issue in the city’s Crystal Springs area. The work recently passed a recent test with flying colors. After some heavy rain, the water drained properly and did not back up over the street.

Dobbs added that there’s a need to coach new business owners on what all is involved in running a business before they get a business license to run one in Lanett. Dobbs said there are situations where people do this only to discover that they have to have to install some kind of new system they can’t afford. “They need to know everything they will be responsible for before they try to start a new business,” he said. “I think we need to have a work session to discuss this. I think it would be a good idea for the owner of a business to have an architectural drawing of a building they are considering renting.”

Council Member Ronnie Tucker asked if the city or the state had the say-so in this right now. Code Enforcement Officer Johnny Wood told him the state did right now because the city does not have a full-time building inspector at the present time. Randall Aikens is doing it on a part-time basis as an independent contractor.

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