<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; "><div class="story_headline" style="color: rgb(59, 59, 59); clear: left; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 23px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: -1px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 5px; padding-top: 5px; "> <font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;">I wonder how many former/retired law enforcement officers in the area would have been interested? We'll never know, no one ever asked.</span></font></div><div class="story_headline" style="color: rgb(59, 59, 59); clear: left; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 23px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: -1px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 5px; padding-top: 5px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;"><br></span></font></div><div class="story_headline" style="color: rgb(59, 59, 59); clear: left; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 23px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: -1px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 5px; padding-top: 5px; "><br></div><div class="story_headline" style="color: rgb(59, 59, 59); clear: left; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 23px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: -1px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 5px; padding-top: 5px; "><br></div><div class="story_headline" style="color: rgb(59, 59, 59); clear: left; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 23px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: -1px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 5px; padding-top: 5px; ">Retired police could work part time under proposal</div><div class="story_lastupdate" style="color: rgb(59, 59, 59); font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; ">Monday, August 23, 2010</div><div class="story_byline" style="font-size: 11px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 10px; ">By Joe Smydo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette</div><div class="story_body" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px; "><p>When Lakewood, Colo., police Detective Alex Jameson decided to come out of retirement and rejoin the force on a part-time basis about two years ago, the arrangement suited everybody.Detective Jameson got back into a game he missed. The department got eyes it otherwise would have done without. And the people of Lakewood got an old hand to take a new look at cold cases."There's no learning curve with him," department spokesman Steve Davis said. "He's familiar with the cases. He's familiar with the people. He's familiar with the geography of the city. There's no ramp-up time."Pittsburgh police Cmdr. Catherine McNeilly says departments nationwide have rehired retirees on a part-time basis, and she'd like Pittsburgh to consider doing the same. At her suggestion, state Rep. Chelsa Wagner, D-Brookline, has introduced a bill to let retired officers across Pennsylvania return to work 800 hours annually without jeopardizing their pension benefits.</p><p>Currently, Ms. Wagner said, a full-time officer cannot retire and go back to work part-time for the same department. She said the law is silent on whether a retired officer may work in another department. Ms. Wagner said her proposal would be a boon to financially strapped municipalities, which wouldn't have to provide health benefits to retirees. She said it's too bad Pittsburgh couldn't tap some of its own retirees in September when it hired hundreds of out-of-town officers on a temporary basis for the G-20 summit.</p><p>Cmdr. McNeilly has documented other departments' efforts to deploy retired officers because of budget cuts -- financial problems so severe in some cities that they've had to sell off police horses and helicopters, curtail minor investigations or disband special units. One city, Mesa, Ariz., has hired civilians to perform minor investigations because they're paid less than police officers. Despite its own financial problems, Pittsburgh hasn't had to take such drastic steps. But Cmdr. McNeilly, who heads the Zone 3 station in Allentown and the department's planning and intelligence unit, said there's no reason to let retirees' talent go to waste.</p><p>Cmdr. McNeilly said some officers, after a few years of retirement, decide they aren't ready to give up work or need a part-time job to supplement their pensions. She said it makes sense to capitalize on the retirees' experience and expertise, while giving them an opportunity to make extra money. "To me, it seems like a can't-lose proposition all the way around," she said.</p><p>Cmdr. McNeilly isn't suggesting that retired officers be put back on regular street duty. Rather, she's suggesting they be assigned to monitor surveillance cameras, man the front desks at police stations, staff the property room, perform confidential clerical work, take reports over the telephone, transport mail from station to station, work missing-person cases, run background checks on police recruits, teach courses at the police academy, operate the citizens police academy, help with traffic control and serve as community liaisons. If retirees filled those roles, she said, more full-time officers could be freed for street duty.</p><p>Cmdr. McNeilly said retirees also could be deployed for special events, such as the Pittsburgh Marathon, First Night and major athletic events. City Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith, who chairs the public-safety committee, said she'd like to consider Ms. Wagner's proposal if it becomes law. She said she's always interested in bolstering the city's force of about 900.</p><p>Cmdr. McNeilly, estimating the average officer's age to be about 45, said a possible spate of retirements also might spark the city's interest in the idea. City officials didn't respond to a request for information about possible retirements. But in its most recent annual report, the police department said the average length of service for a commander was 26.9 years; for a sergeant, 17.7 years; for a detective, 16.1 years; for a regular officer, 11 years.</p><p>In Lakewood, Detective Jameson didn't take the place of another full-time officer. If he hadn't returned to duty, the cold-case unit would have operated without additional help, Mr. Davis, the department spokesman, said.</p><p>Mr. Davis said Detective Jameson has indicated that he's interested in returning to retirement. The search is on, Mr. Davis said, for another retiree to replace him.</p></div><br><br><span>Read more: <a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10235/1082030-53.stm#ixzz0xSvEfs9x" style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; ">http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10235/1082030-53.stm#ixzz0xSvEfs9x</a></span></span></body></html>