Megan - thank you for posting that article. It is a very innovative idea.

Matt - we do indeed have a light duty policy. This policy has been effective for us and many agencies, we just need more police visiability in our community.

The thesis you posted was great. I read most of it; very well written and makes valuable connections between effectiveness of public securityand typical communities.

Thank you both for your help and I am sorry for the delayed response.

That's sad. I hope the officer makes a full recovery.

Do you have a light-duty policy? I've seen positive examples in public safety and public works. A knee injury may prevent field work for several months, but that person can remain at work in a defined light-duty role, working on reports, grants, or IT, or training and mentoring junior staff. We had a very positive example of this at a wastewater plant. With HR helping to define the light-duty scope of work and the conditions of return, your officer could offer much in terms of community policing, advising or training, or community outreach.

Do you have a volunteer reserve unit? Many localities keep corps of police volunteers for support --parking patrol, crowd control, youth events, light office work. The volunteers may be young aspiring officers, retirees, or boosters. The danger to the injured officer's shift could motivate volunteers to step up and help where permissible, freeing patrol officers to focus on patrol. Again, the injured officer could act in a light-duty capacity as a volunteer coordinator to recruit, motivate, and train several unpaid auxiliaries.

I'm glad you've gotten such a good response! I'm no expert on the specific techniques, but the national VIPS site could help you as a clearinghouse of best practices and contacts: http://www.policevolunteers.org/

This is a sergeant's graduate thesis about best practices and the importance of a designated volunteer coordinator: http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a496998.pdf

I read a really interesting article from NACo a couple months ago about how Wayne County, Michigan, has been able to use its injured employees as "temps" to do work for positions that had been eliminated through budget cuts over the years. I thought it was a really creative solution to this issue.

Here's a link to the article: http://www.naco.org/newsroom/countynews/Current%20Issue/2-13-12/Pages/ModelProgramsformtheNation%27sCounties.aspx

Matt,

Since posting this I have called many other police departments and many reported shifting officers and shifts, allowing current officers to donated time, and implimenting a reserve officer program using both volunteers and paid part time officers. Currently, we do post injured officers on light duty if they are able and are released by their doctor.

We are now looking into ideas of reserve officer programs. The volunteer programs do not seem as successful/effective as paid part time programs. Do you have any feedback on the specifics of a good reserve program?

Thank you so much for you detailed response.

Jessica