Schaumburg police interested in hiring laid-off officers

With several police departments in the region laying off officers due to budget cuts, the Schaumburg Police Department would like to capitalize on their experience to increase the reliability of its own new hires.

Schaumburg Police Chief Brian Howerton is proposing the village board and police and fire commission give preference to experienced, certified officers involuntarily laid off for purely financial and seniority reasons.

He's not talking about raiding other departments, but giving work to their castoffs.

"I'm not looking to steal other departments' police officers," Howerton said.

Hiring an already certified officer can result in a savings per officer of about $18,000 - plus months of training time - compared to an applicant who has yet to go to the police academy, Howerton said.

Hiring experienced officers is not a new idea, but there probably has never been a pool of experienced but unemployed officers quite the size of today's, he said.

Howerton said that based on conversations with other Illinois chiefs, he estimates there are about 60 unemployed officers across the state.

At present, the Schaumburg department holds a selection process for potential recruits every two years, where 300-400 applicants take written, physical and psychological tests that make no distinction of their level of experience.

When an opening becomes available, a person is hired, beginning a months-long process that includes the academy, certification testing, field training and a probationary period.

During this time, up to seven months of a first-year, $53,000 salary may be paid and the rookie may still not work out. Of the 29 officers hired since 2004, 12 have been let go at some point during this process.

This forces the department to start all over again and often have to pay overtime to make up for a still vacant position.

And that's what Howerton hopes his new policy will avoid.

"What this does is allows people who are already certified to step to the front of the line," he said.

In addition to being certified, officers on the so-called lateral hire list must meet Schaumburg's other criteria: Have a bachelor's degree and be under 40 at the time of hire.

No matter what their level of experience, these officers would be hired at entry-level pay. But Schaumburg officers reach the top of the union pay scale in only four years.

Schaumburg Fire Chief David Schumann is endorsing a similar policy for his department as well, but said fewer layoffs among firefighters make him less likely to benefit from it anytime soon.

Having a lateral hire list won't change the police department's policy of creating a general list of applicants as well, Howerton said.

"There's still a value in allowing people who have never been a police officer to be a police officer," he said. "This is not a process we would use forever."

The Schaumburg Police Department has avoided layoffs by having a hiring freeze for the past couple years. During this time, the number of sworn officers has decreased from 133 to 117 without affecting minimum staffing levels on the street, Howerton said.

There is one current opening and another one that will come in May that are being filled the traditional way.

But three more vacancies are anticipated this summer that could be filled using the lateral hire list.

The village board is expected to vote on the proposal at its meeting Tuesday night.