LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The staffing shortage at the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) is so severe that dozens of Louisville schools will go without crossing guards when school starts next week. That's what the department's Support Bureau Assistant Chief Lt. Col. Andy McClinton told a committee of Metro Council members on Wednesday afternoon. According to McClinton, about 30 schools won't see crossing guards because of the shortage of personnel.
What You Need To Know
- Schools will be forced to go without crossing guards, according to LMPD, because the department is so short-staffed
- This came to light during a Metro Council committee meeting when a proposal to require the "traffic guards" was discussed
- LMPD says it can provide 85 guards, so about 30 schools will go without
The topic came up for discussion Wednesday afternoon in a Metro Council Public Safety Committee meeting. An ordinance to require "traffic guards," or crossing guards, came up for debate. The measure is sponsored by Councilman Anthony Piagentini, R-District 19, but McClinton was on hand to comment on just how feasible a requirement like this would be for LMPD to follow under its staffing shortage.
McClinton said the department is usually able to allocate 112 crossing guards, but currently has just 85. Usually, McClinton said a school will call for another officer to fill the gap when a crossing guard is missing; however, he won't be able to accommodate any such request either.
"I might only have eight to 10 officers working in that division, so that is not possible. We would not be able to send an officer to every school," he remarked.
"We do not have the staffing unfortunately...We have to have the officers on the streets responding to calls for service, so that is our big concern. It just comes down to staffing. We don't have bodies to do it," McClinton went on.
The committee meeting adjourned, with members voting to table the ordinance to put it on hold for now. You can read the ordinance in its entirety here: