GEORGETOWN, Ohio — Rural villages wrestling for police recruits feel pinned down. Short on staff and money, they are no match for bigger cities and towns that are also competing for officers.
"You can't even get anyone to make you a sandwich at McDonald's let alone get anyone to come in here and be a police officer," Village of Georgetown Police Chief Robert Freeland said.
Georgetown needs five to six officers and has for two years. Freeland's one advertisement for a full-time officer listed on the job website Indeed reeled in two qualified applicants over the last two weeks. Freeland said he used to get two dozen recruits in the past.
"We used to have what we called weekend warriors that would, they had full-time jobs and they'd come out here on the weekend to help out and they enjoyed it," he said. "But those people don't exist anymore."
Across Ohio, members of the Ohio Small Department Association reported similar challenges. Some bigger cities offer candidates bonuses. Others have starting salaries higher than that of Georgetown's police chief.
That village's tax base lost Brown County's only hospital and several businesses in recent years.
Neighboring Hamersville had 11 officers in 2020. Now, their police department has just four.
"You really see from over national events over the past couple of years that officers are starting to take inventory now trying to figure out is this really worth it," said John DiPietro, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Ohio Lodge #117. "If we went back a number of years ago, just overnight we went from public servant to public enemy. When I became an officer, I didn't think twice about, 'Oh my gosh, I can be sued ... oh my gosh, I can be shot at.' You don't think of those things. Now, I think because we watch the news every night that is a major concern now for people when they jump into that career."
His group is fighting to bring attention to police wellness and improve access to private doctors, psychologists and attorneys hired by unions to safeguard officers from lawsuits and health record leaks.
However, in small towns with fewer resources and felony crime rising, some homeowners sense change.
"Normally, you don't lock your doors out here," said John Bellamy, who lives in Georgetown.
Police patrols control crime as best they can. Without new recruits, though, rural departments struggle to keep pace.
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