Fire and police departments face hiring challenges

If you’ve been on local police and fire departments’ social media pages, Iistened to the radio, or read local papers recently, you may have noticed some “Help Wanted” signs. Departments across the nation are finding themselves short-staffed, and that problem hasn’t skipped over New Mexico either.

In an interview with the Eastern New Mexico News, Clovis Deputy Fire Chief Byron Dixon stated that being a firefighter is “definitely not a job for everyone.” Part of his job as deputy fire chief is hiring qualified and motivated people.

The Clovis Fire Department currently has four to six open positions. In an attempt to bring in those qualified and motivated people the department will be implementing a 48/96 work schedule starting July 1. Dixon explained that this new schedule will allow firefighters to work two days straight, but then have four days off. The department currently works on a 24/72 work schedule, with firefighters working one 24-hour shift and then having three days off.

Dixon said the department is hoping the new schedule will be a hiring incentive.

To become a firefighter a person must complete an application and a physical agility test. A background check must also be completed. Once those three things are completed successfully the training begins. A new firefighter is not just thrown into a burning building, an apprentice isn’t allowed into burning buildings and they can’t touch patients right away.

“We can hire you right off the street, as long as you don’t have any backgrounds or anything that’s detrimental to the citizens,” Dixon explained.

When talking about the shortage Dixon reminisced about why he became a firefighter 30 years ago. He stated that he originally came into the profession to help pay off his student loans, and didn’t have a wife or kids at the time. He stated that having a family can often make someone not want to become a firefighter, mainly because of the low salary.

‘When the job market is absolutely great it’s difficult to retain (people),” Dixon said. “Now when a job market is not so good, people tend to get into a job such as the fire service or public safety or police because it’s a consistent, constant stable position.”

Police departments are also having trouble hiring in 2021. The Clovis Police Department had three officers who all had at least 20 years of service under their belt retire last year, and the department is still looking to fill those three positions.

In an email Clovis Police Chief Doug Ford said there are multiple reasons officers are leaving the police force.

“We are seeing many officers retire, with it being they have reached their time or they are ready for a change,” Ford said. “The current climate and rhetoric we are seeing in other areas of our nation, is not assisting with agencies being able to retain seasoned personnel or recruit new officers.”

The department is currently using social media, websites, and recruiting groups to get the word out about the job openings.

“We are facing challenges in getting qualified people and would like to see people take up the challenge to become a police officer,” Ford commented. “This is still a very exciting, challenging and honorable profession.”

The Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office doesn’t have any job openings right now, but Sheriff Malin Parker told The News the current situation is an anomaly.

Parker said that the last time he had openings in his department it took almost seven months for the positions to get filled. He stated that it is increasingly difficult to hire people to join police forces.

“I believe a lot of it has to do with the way our nation is going towards police reform,” Parker said. “I think (we’re) being handicapped from doing our job.

“To be honest with you if I were trying to find a career, law enforcement would be the last place I (would look) right now, just because of our nation’s entire outlook on police reform, and our state as well.”

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the New Mexico Civil Rights Act on April 7. The new law eliminated qualified immunity, which protected individuals working for government agencies like school districts and police departments from being held liable in civil rights lawsuits.

Lujan Grisham said, while she respects police officers who “work tirelessly every single day to protect” New Mexicans, “the victims (of excessive force incidents) are disproportionately people of color, and there are too often roadblocks to fighting for those inalienable rights in a court of law.”

Parker is concerned the new law will open officers up to increased personal liabilities.

“The last thing anybody wants it to be dragged into court every time they do their job … ” Parker said.