This is rare news, at least these days. The City of Aurora, Colorado is actually hiring law enforcement officers. Most cities are experiencing an economic downtown and have succumbed to budget restraints. But Aurora is moving forward, although there is some concern for the types of added services the police perform. Some believe these additional services would be more cost effective if conducted elsewhere.
Background checks for instance are one consideration. Aurora employs full time law enforcement officers to conduct background checks on new police employment candidates. Denver does the same but in Denver the overall cost is, according to the article on the 9News.com website, nearly eight percent less. Denver runs three times the background checks they do in Aurora.
The reason? Apparently Denver used to employ full-time detectives conduct its background checks, like Aurora. But in 2002, Denver’s Police Chief and Manager of Public Safety decided they could save a few bucks, about $1 million, annually, if they hired retired police officers. The retired police officers get paid $21 an hour to conduct background checks for new police officers and firefighters. This prudent move also freed up Denver’s detectives to focus on crime instead of paperwork.
According to the article, Denver spends about $100,000 for about 250 background checks. On the other hand, Aurora spent more than $600,000 in 2010 to conduct about 140 background checks.
Perhaps Aurora should follow Denver’s lead on this and hire retired detectives to run background checks on its new hires in the police and fire department. Save a few bucks. Keep the current detectives working on cases. Seems like a win-win.
Check them out before you hire.
