Local Police!
BY DOUG BUTTER
Sunset Beach Police Department is one officer short.
Holden Beach will soon be losing one of its veteran
patrolmen. It's business as usual with Brunswick
County's small-town police forces.
This scene is common. A vnnnu officer- moo
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straight out of certification school, learns the profession
from a veteran chief and moves on to a bigger department
offering more money and other benefits.
Shallotte Police Chief Rodney Gause said most officers
will leave small-town police forces because of
working conditions or personal conflicts within the
department.
He said the combination of long shifts, low salaries,
inadequate equipment and a lack of room for advancement
can lead officers to seek work in other departments.
Sunset Beach Police Chief William Hill agrees. He
said officers will usually leave smaller departments
seeking better working conditions, namely fewer hours
and better pay.
When an officer leaves a department, there is a time
the force has to operate shorthanded while a replacement
is sought. This temporary shortage, according to Hill
adds to the workload of the remaining officers and is
another factor which leads them to seek employment
with larger departments.
"The biggest thing I have encountered in my 28 years
of law enforcement is not enough manpower," he added.
Hill, who worked six years as chief of police at
Holder. Beach before taking control of the Sunset Beach
department, said he witnessed the same trend in both
communities. He attributes none of the turnover to
tourist-related problems.
Raymond Simpson, police chief at Holden Beach for
the past six years, said the bottom line is salary. "More
money. That's the name of the game," he said.
"Everyone's looking for greener pastures."
And officers usually don't have to travel too far for
those greener pastures. The Brunswick County Sheriff's
Department starts all of its officers with a salary of
$15,462, said Sheriff John C. Davis.
Wilmington Police Department officers start out
with a salary of $16,494, which the chief can increase at
his discretion, according to spokesperson Donna Safra.
The Town of Shallotte, meanwhile, offers its officers
76 Marijuana P
The Brunswick County Narcotics were found Friday
Squad this month has seized an on Gray Bridge Rc
estimated $121,600 worth of mari- were located earlit
juana plants growing in two areas Boone's Neck are;
near Shallotte. The marijuana
No arrests were reported as of Gray Bridge R
Moi day in either case, according to 3%-feet tall anc
Sheriff's Det. Mike Speck. Both cases throughout a woe
remain under investigation. between N.C. 131
The detective noted that 40 plants Road, Speck said.
Southport PD Charges
A Southport teen-ager was ar- ment worth $220 w
rested last week in connection with a 1986 Ford pickup
vehicle break-in and a "Peeping Raymond Watkins
Tom" incident in Southport. Lee was release
Charles Harvey Lee, 18, of West 9th a $1,500 unsecured
Street, was charged by Southport appearance schedi
Police with breaking and entering a
motor vehicle, larceny and secretly
peeping into a room occupied by a
female person, according to arrest /Osr
warrants on file at the Brunswick m a .
County Clerk of Court's office. K3 I Ai
The documents stated that Lee was
taken into custody after he allegedly
looked in the window at the Shirley
Clunk residence on Stuart Avenue,
Southport, last Wednesday around 2 ^#8?
a.m. Two women were home at the
time of the incident. ^
The vehicle break-in and larceny rgU"4
occurred July 31 in Southport. Accor- *v .
ding to the warrants, stereo equipCorrection
MlwEiM
An article in the Aug. 11 issue of jfii^
The Briinswick Beacon incorrectly MS ?1
identified a witness to last Monday's yttjgjj
fire in Grissettown. The father of the jfejgBaggffifr
mobile home's owner is James
Frink. Asphal
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SHALLOTTE POLICE CHIEF RODNEY GAUSE
looks over the stockpile of uuiforms the town has accumulated
over the years as officers of all shapes and
a starting salary of $14,456, while Holden Beach starts its
patrolmen out at $13,650.
In addition to money, larger departments can also
provide more opportunity for advancement and more
training. In smaller departments, police chiefs cannot afford
to send one of their officers away for a week or two to
training school.
"I'm never surprised when I get a resignation," added
Simpson. "I've gotten enough of them over the years
that the shock has worn off."
lants Found Near
f in a wooded area The detective said the property is
>ad. Some 36 plants leased by a local hunting club.
?r this month in the However, lawmen do not suspect that
i, he said. the hunters planted the illegal crop,
plants found near "We have suspects, and we're
rvoH vunrn qKaii! -* --? '' L ? :J ' 11 1
uuu nvtv ouuut lULlUYYUIg 11 UJJ, IIC SiilU, adding 1X131
1 were scattered the sheriff's department found the
?ded area midway plants after receiving information
] and Shell Point from an unidentified citizen.
According to Sheriff John C. Davis,
the plants found near Boone's Neck
? T ? ? ? also were in a wooded area. The
> I ""I 1 plants ranged in height from 18 inches
to three feet. Additional inforas
removed from a mation on the seizure was
i truck owned by unavailable Monday.
! Speck said local authorities this
d from custody on year have seized approximately 1,500
bond, with a court marijuana plants in Brunswick Counuled
for Sept. 27. ty. The marijuana would have a
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STAFF PHOTO BY DOUG RUTTER
sizes pass through on their way to positions with bigger
departments. Due to the high turnover rate with patrol
officers, most local towns have similar storage areas.
In his seven years with the Shallotte Police Department,
Gause said he has seen more than 20 officers come
and go. Most, he added, leave for the sheriff's department
or larger cities such as Wilmington.
"Most of mine have left for advancement," added
Hill, who estimated that he loses one officer each year.
He said three, of his former patrolman have gone to work
for the N.C. Highway Patrol.
Like most other local police chiefs, Simpson said
there is little that can be done to reverse the turnover
* Shdlotte I
i i At
street value at maturity of $2.4
million, based on the SBI's estimated
value of $1,600 per plant.
Shallotte Police
Arrest Conway Man
Shallotte Police arrested a Con- FULL ^E
way, S.C., man early Sunday morn- ^
ing for driving under the influence of
alcohol.
Donald Guy Messinger, 24, was ar- jyPF^FTTI
rested and charged with one count
each of driving while impaired and
driving left of the center line. Roy
Kohler was the arresting officer. RFRVII
Messinger was transported to the
Brunswick County Jail where his
bond was set at $350.
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NSWICK BEACON, Thursday, August 18, 1988?Page 7-A
j mover Rate
Tm never surprised
when I get a '*1
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resignation. 1
?Raymond Simpson
Holden Beach Police Chief ySSSF
trend. Higher salaries are the key, he said, because working
conditions at the local beach communities are not extreme.
"The work here is not bad at all," he said. "It's quiet,
very quiet, except for a few months out of the year."
While the salaries are out of his control, he said he
: li -- ? *
uura cActuuue applications to see now long officers stay in
one place. He said he will not hire someone who jumps
from one department to the next in a matter of months.
Although many small-town departments seem to
serve as training grounds for larger law enforcement
agencies, Chief Gause believes there is a way to buck the
trend.
He said providing officers with opportunities to advance
within the department is vital to keeping them in
the department. This includes advanced training courses
and additional responsibilities.
"If they feel they're achieving their goals and moving
up, they're not gonna leave," he said. "As long as you
can keep them motivated, they're gonna stick around."
If patrol officers can work and look forward to promotions
to sergeant, lieutenant and detective, they will
do a better job and stay with the same department.
Gause said he has also started an Officer of the Year
award which will be given at the end of each calendar
year as another means of motivating the officers.
, Due to the growth of Shailotte, Gause said he may
have a slight advantage over other local chiefs who are
A. I 4. er
uyuig 10 retain onicers.
"We're a small department now but we're going to
grow as the town gets bigger. In the years to come, that
will mean there will be more room to move up," he said.
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