© 2024 Public Radio Tulsa
800 South Tucker Drive
Tulsa, OK 74104
(918) 631-2577

A listener-supported service of The University of Tulsa
classical 88.7 | public radio 89.5
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

TPD Gives Update on Hiring Civilians for Some Jobs

Tulsa Police Department

The Tulsa Police Department is making some progress in civilianization — turning several sworn positions into civilian ones.

A civilian crime analyst has been hired, and a few other positions are in the hiring process. Deputy Chief Jonathan Brooks said some jobs with multiple positions, like a policy writer, will be filled by both officers and civilians soon.

"And we felt this was probably the best solution because we all know, when we went through the budget constraints before, this allows us some type of contingency planning if we do have a downturn," Brooks said.

TPD officials have said city budget shortfalls several years ago led to officers filling several positions on the civilianization list. TPD got $327,000 this fiscal year specifically for hiring civilians for certain jobs.

But the department has determined some positions just aren’t right for it. Brooks told city councilors two property room staff jobs are off the list because they carry guns.

"So we looked at having a civilian armed position, and we worked with city legal to work out the details," Brooks said. "It became so comlex and convoluted that, at this point in time, it's simpler just to leave it as a police officer."

The department also determined a court liaison job has duties a civilian just can’t do.

"There are a lot of affidavits, warrants that need to be signed and delivered by a peace officer," Brooks said. "So we could civilianize a portion of that position, but then those duties would still need to be done by a sworn position."

Brooks told city councilors telephone report officer and equipment officer positions won’t be converted to civilian jobs right now, either.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.