Hubbard City's police department is facing a critical shortage. The department is missing a third of its staff, and the city's safety service director said it's to the point that coverage could be limited. 

The Hubbard Police chief is worried about the city's police staffing shortage. They’ve been seeing a decline in officers for about a year.

“It’s definitely the worst that I’ve seen since I’ve been here,” said Robert Thompson, Hubbard City police chief.

A message to Hubbard City said the following:

 “Due to recent staffing issues and circumstances beyond our control in the Hubbard City Police Department, the number of officers remaining may limit the amount of coverage that can be provided to the residents. This administration wants to ensure the residents that we are working closely with the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Department and in the event there is a manpower shortage, when a resident contacts the Trumbull County 911 Center for an emergency, an officer will respond…”

 

So far, the police department has been fully operating, but Thompson said if the staffing shortage continues, this won't be the case. 

“We're not going to have enough people to cover a 24/7 shift. We'd have to talk to the sheriff's department to see if they can cover it, or surrounding agencies. We don't want to do that,” said Thompson.

If fully staffed, the department would have 15 officers. Thompson is looking to hire five. With only two thirds of the needed staff, even one call off or injury creates a dire situation. 

“They're working really hard. A lot of overtime is embedded with the schedule every week that's there without somebody taking off. They've been really good about not taking time off just to get through this bump in the road,” said Thompson.

The department is looking at doing laterals and offering incentives. They also raised the starting wage.

“We're under an emergency where we need to hire, and need to do something quick. Like I said, our safety director, he's working really hard with the safety committee to see what we can do to mitigate this because we need to stop the bleeding now,” said Thompson.

Shawn Rentz, safety director for the City of Hubbard, is planning on presenting a police recruitment and retention plan to city council on monday

Thompson said he is grateful for the community’s help during this tough time.

“One of the things we have to brag about is our community. They are very supportive…. All the food that was brought in because they know our officers are working overtime,” said Thompson.