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A local police chief is trying to recruit more officers and he is starting by talking to high school students about law enforcement.
Buena Vista Township Police Chief Reggie Williams is looking for feedback.
“I don’t want one perspective, I just want many perspectives because it’s a huge problem right now,” Williams said.
The problem Williams is facing is a shortage of police officers.
“It’s very difficult to find people that are interested. And when I say large, we do not have the numbers like we used to have. We do not have the interest like we used to have,” Williams said.
Williams wants 15 officers and he currently has seven. Williams is going straight to the source and talking to high schoolers about law enforcement.
“But just to get good police officers, it’s always been an uphill battle, but now even more so because of the scrutiny and the, everything that law enforcement has been going through over the past few years,” Williams said.
He recognizes some departments have made recruitment difficult, especially for smaller departments like his own.
“But when I ask questions like you know, when things happen across the nation, what do you think about your officers locally? And they, all of them explained that we don’t, you know, judge them based on what it is we see,” Williams said.
In the meantime, Saginaw, where he is a member of the city council, is seeing the same surge in violence as the rest of the nation.
“A lot of it has to do with social media. Arguments and beefs over social media. Family dramas, whatnot. And what we’re noticing is that they’re isolated incidents. These things are happening where it’s directed. But it’s a lot,” Williams said.
Williams hopes more officers means being proactive instead of reactive and being able to assist Saginaw whenever they can. Williams plans on visiting the Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy, Arthur Hill, Heritage, and Swan Valley High Schools in the coming weeks to speak with more students.