Police chief cites staffing and grant funding as causes of drop in traffic stops; hiring underway

Rathbrough’s recently appointed police chief told the council the department has seen a notable reduction in traffic‑stop totals compared with last year and said the numbers are an item he wants to understand as he reviews operations.

Council members and staff said the drop in traffic stops is largely attributable to reduced grant funding for overtime or extra‑shift enforcement that had funded additional traffic enforcement last year. The chief said staffing shortages and officers on leave also reduce the department’s capacity for discretionary enforcement such as traffic stops.

Police staff reported the department received 14 applicants for current openings, moved a subset to testing and oral boards, and advanced three candidates into background investigations. The council approved two new positions earlier in the year, staff said; if background checks and hiring succeed, the department hopes to send recruits to the academy in January with officers becoming fully independent after field‑training that could place them on road duties later in the year.

No policy changes were proposed at the meeting. The chief said he will provide more detailed, broken‑out statistics to the council going forward to help explain monthly and year‑over‑year trends.