Posted on 05/09/24
| News Source: FOX45
Baltimore, MD - May 9, 2024 - "Anyone willing to work overtime?" asks dispatchers on the police radio frequency each day.
In the city of Baltimore, it's become a routine occurrence as police appeal to police for help.
On Wednesday, in the city's Northeast Police District, which is the city's second largest and second deadliest district, just four officers were scheduled to patrol on the 7am shift.
"That is woefully inadequate," said Sgt. Betsy Smith with the National Police Association.
As the department struggles to fill 600 vacancies, it's becoming reliant on other officers working overtime to fill in the gap.
In the Northeast District Wednesday morning, 12 officers were working overtime.
Six of the officers volunteered, five of the officers were drafted and required to work an additional four hours of overtime.
"This is usually unsuccessful and the neighborhoods throughout the city are left with little coverage," said Michael Mancuso, President of the Fraternal Order of Police.
Mancuso predicts the department will never close its officer gaps without devoting more funding to salaries and improving working conditions.
"If everyone would work together to fight that false narrative that somehow the law enforcement officers are the problem, that would go a long way toward retaining police officers," said Smith.