RGV Police officers in high demand as reserve number increase

MERCEDES, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Various local cities in the Rio Grande Valley are experiencing high turnover at their police departments.

The reason for this is because law enforcement officers are taking jobs up north for higher wages and no benefits through reserve programs instead of serving locally.

ValleyCentral spoke to a couple of local police chiefs about how their departments are fairing and they say officer shortages are growing as they are choosing high-paying traffic jobs over local duty.

“We are in need of officers in our municipalities," said Frank Sanchez, who is the police chief in Mercedes. "We're in need of officers in our school districts. And there's also demand for officers to work, you know, traffic type of detail up in the upper Valley.”

Sanchez understands why police officers take on reserve roles as they can make up to $45 to $50 an hour for traffic detail assignments.

“Some say, you know, it's really good pay, but you have to sleep out of your car, you have to shower at a local gym, and you gotta, you know, live a certain way just to be able to, you know, get that pay," Sanchez said.

However, many of these jobs come without any benefits like health insurance, a retirement plan or even life insurance. Ultimately, Sanchez says this does not benefit officers for the long-term.

Also, this leaves some police departments with lower than expected coverage. That is why the Alton Police Department no longer allows police officers to be reserves.

Alton Police Chief Mark Perez says they have lost four officers in the past five months with two of them leaving for higher wages in traffic operations. However, they are not letting any new officers work as non-full time reserve officers.

“We're not going to pick up those individuals," Perez said. "One you end up with a large roster of officers doing this. Twenty to 30 is way too many. Where's the oversight? Where's the command and control, and if they're working and Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Victoria, sitting on the side of the road.”

Although the Alton police force still has 30 active members and is growing, he stopped the program to ensure officers are available to serve the community when needed.

“We are just not participating in that type of deal," Perez said. "The two non-full-time peace officers that work provide valuable information to us and valuable assets and we use them as a resource and we are very happy with the few that we have currently, and we are not looking to grow our non-full-time roster for all.”

Sanchez says Mercedes does have several reserve officers as they are used for major city events. He is not against them trying to make extra money but hopes entities like TXDOT and others develop a plan where officers can both serve their communities and earn additional income.

“For us is looking for a proper schedule that gives them enough time to still go up there and get the job done, help the job sites that need to help, but still give these officers ample time off, right? Every job industry has days off, and law enforcement is no exception to that," Sanchez said. "We need to really keep our mental health towards our officers.”

Sanchez says incoming police officers should never forget the values of service and community.

“Just because somebody offers you, you know, x amount of dollar for you to come work, you know, out of your car somewhere," the police chief said. "You know, it's not that it's a bad deal. It's just think about your family. Where you're placing your family, you should be able to go back to your home every day and see your kids, see your family.”

Sanchez says local colleges offer resources for those interested in becoming police officers and hopes more people join policing now.