FORT PIERC – Fort Pierce Police Chief David Smith said Monday he found a “strong agency with dedicated people” when he took over leadership of the department 99 days ago. But he also identified staffing and space shortages, plus an estimated $2.3 million in unfunded capital needs that are challenges for optimizing local law enforcement.
Smith unveiled his “100-day” assessment to the Fort Pierce City Commission Monday, saying he believes Fort Pierce Police Department morale has “improved” and applauded the spirit of cooperation he said exists between FPPD and the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Department.
City commissioners’ similarly responded positively to Smith’s report on progress since he became police chief here in February, succeeding Diane Hobley-Burney who resigned under internal pressure nearly a year ago.
“The feedback I’ve been getting has been overwhelmingly positive,” Commissioner Michael Broderick said at the conclusion of Smith’s report. “I see more faith and satisfaction within the police department than I have seen since I’ve been on this commission.”
Commissioner Arnold Gaines also lauded Smith and his staff for making more public appearances that are being “noticed in the community.”
During his early tenure, Smith said his priorities have been meeting with his officers and focusing on communication, training and leadership, all issues that he said are common nationwide. He said he’s instituted an anonymous “Ask the Chief” question portal where he shows all the questions that are posed and his answers, as well as beginning a quarterly newsletter, a committee to get officer input on uniform needs and appearing at several community town hall meetings.
But Smith acknowledged that most of the department’s challenges trace back to finances. Smith reported the department has about $2.3 million in capital needs, saying “We are far behind where we need to be when it comes to staffing and technology.” And the department has outgrown its space, he added.
Smith hopes some challenges can be handled with more efficiency. But he said FPPD currently has 12 officer vacancies in its patrol division, a shortage he’s trying to address with overtime and making special arrangements to hire back some retirees.
Recruiting new officers is an ongoing priority, with a 7.5 percent average vacancy rate that Smith wants down to 3 to 6 percent. Fort Pierce frequently trains new officers, then loses them to other departments like Port St. Lucie that offer 20 percent higher wages.
He supports offering local hiring bonuses, but acknowledges that also takes more money. Early outreach to attract homegrown officers is planned through the Boys’ and Girls’ Club, a youth Explorers Post, a paid cadet program and recruiting at military bases where Armed Forces payments can help job transition costs.
City leaders have advocated for increased recruitment of female, African American, Hispanic and Haitian-American officers to reflect Fort Pierce demographics.
Smith also praised the transition leadership of Deputy Chief Robert Ridle, who served as interim chief after the resignation of Hobley-Burney until Smith, previously Prince William County, VA, district police commander, was hired from a field of more than 50 nationwide candidates.