Clifton Business Association wants an off-duty police detail
CINCINNATI (WXIX) - A string of businesses in a Cincinnati neighborhood is looking to add a police detail to their security, but the Tri-State’s police officer shortage is making that task more difficult.
Mike Anagnostou has been the owner of Ludlow Wines since 2008 and is also the president of the Clifton Business Association.
“People like the charm of the Clifton Business District,” he told FOX19 NOW.
Anagnostou says he would like the charm to stick around and that means keeping safety at the top of the list.
The neighborhood group says they have been trying to hire an off-duty police officer to work a detail in the area, but have not been able to find someone to accept the job.
Last year, they even created a fundraiser to help pay whatever officer ended up taking the job.
“It is a preventative measure and that’s one of the things I think the businesses have worked on. Trying to come up with ways to keep the business district thriving. We have the Ludlow Garage. We have the Esquire Theater, which is our regional art house theater,” Anagnstou said.
But even with the funds, the business owner says they have not been able to get an officer.
Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police President Dan Hils told FOX19 NOW that the shortage of officers in the area is making off-duty details less attractive, especially since they are already receiving extra pay to work overtime for the police department.
“We hear a lot about what’s going on at City Hall and some of the challenges they have to meet in terms of budgeting and trying to get more police officers in and so forth. So we do understand it,” explained Hils. “It’s a compounding of a problem. You’re 120 police officers short so then the ones that are there on the streets are forced to work a lot of overtime.”
It’s simple supply and demand, Hils says. A shortage of officers means you will have to pay an officer more money to incentivize them to work the off-duty detail.
“There’s a lot of demand for police officers and off-duty police officers to work. It’s an excellent service to have outside of your door if you’re a business because you’re pretty much guaranteed not to have serious trouble and you’re guaranteed safety. So it comes at a price,” he said.
Businesses looking to hire an off-duty officer may want to prepare to pay a bit more money until the shortage is solved.
See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Copyright 2023 WXIX. All rights reserved.
