After hiring three new officers, the Algood Police Department is celebrating being fully staffed for the first time in awhile.
Police Chief Tim Terry said the three new officers will now bring the department’s total up to 15. Terry said it feels good to be fully staffed for a change.
“Well, it means that we don’t have officers working the streets by themselves anymore,” Terry said. “There were times where we would only have a single officer working. That’s not a good thing. Not safe. We can’t serve the public as well.”
Terry said officers were often required to work days off and extra shifts, driving up the overtime budget. Terry said hiring new officers has been a challenge due to competition from larger agencies such as Cookville, the Sheriff’s Office, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol, which offer higher pay and specialized units like SWAT or narcotics.
“This time, we got lucky,” Terry said. “We had a couple of certified officers looking for a change. They applied, passed the test, and did really well in their interviews, so we were able to hire them.”
With a full staff, Terry said the department expects improvements in safety, response times, and community policing. He said the department also plans to increase enforcement and visibility across the city.
“It means that we don’t have officers working the streets by themselves anymore,” Terry said. “We should be able to step up some of our enforcements that we haven’t been able to, and officer presence is a big one. That’s going to help a lot.”
Terry said the Algood Police Department is mostly made up of patrol officers. Terry said the department is unlike other police departments, which typically have a narcotics team or other types of divisions.
