INDEPENDENCE, Ky. — The city of Independence is adding a social worker position to its police department, following a trend of other departments in an effort toward community-oriented policing.

The department has a lot to consider as it chooses its first police social worker on staff. Sgt. George Kreutzjans said he hopes to fill the position by mid-November.

“Typically, police see people at their worst," Kreutzjans said. "And when I say at their worst, when things are worst for them, which puts police in a position to have to do things that a lot of times people don’t want to happen."

"But there is a job and things they have to do. This affords that opportunity for people to see that police, in general, are there to help.”

The department considers the position a “second responder" as opposed to first responder. They won’t drive a police car or carry a gun or badge, but they’ll be there to help connect people to the service they need.

“It could be a domestic violence situation, and they could be caused by many things," Kreutzjans said. "Maybe it’s a mental health issue, maybe it’s financial, maybe it’s drug or alcohol abuse; it takes some digging to find that out. And those things can lead to frequent calls for the police." 

This reflects an overall trend of police departments trying to become more community-oriented, making people feel more comfortable around officers, he said. Independence joins other northern Kentucky cities such as Alexandria and Erlanger in adding a social worker, which Kreutzjans said has been successful so far.

“It has been able to cut down return visits to police, and that’s good because it frees us up to do other things,” he said. “Police, in their very nature, it’s not really what they’re designed to do … some of these services are things that require a scalpel, and police officers, we’re more like a hammer.”

The deadline to apply for this position is Friday, Nov. 8. Visit the department’s website for more information.