Houston Police Power Shift

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There has been many controversies in many patrol stations here at the Houston Police Department regarding a 10 hours shift called “power shift”. When I first start off my career as a patrolman, I had the opportunity to either choose an 8 hour or 10 hour shift. The difference between those two shifts are the days off. For instance, an officer who works an 8 hour shift will have a two days weekend, and officers who works a 10 hour shift will have a three day weekend. Some supervisors believe having power shifts is an advantage because it overlaps all three shifts (e.g. days, evenings, nights), in terms of relieving officers during shift change. Some officers hate getting dispatched to a late call especially when their shift ends in about 15 minutes. Power shift officers will pick up the slack and relief 8 hour shift officers so they can end their tour of duty. Power shifts will also save divisions money.

When 8 hour shift officers get dispatched to a late call towards the end of their tour, more than likely the officer will request for overtime pay. Depending on the captain of each division, budgeting is very critical and some divisions just don’t have the budget to pay officers who request for paid over time. Only a few stations in HPD still have power shifts because the captain of that division believes that it benefits his or her …show more content…

Unfortunately, our captain quickly squashed the officers’ petition and advised them to maintain their 8 hour shift. That being said, I noticed many officers put in requests to transfer out to other stations that still offers power shifts. Our station is currently low on manpower (officers and supervisors), and I can see the strain and exhaustion on everyone’s face during roll call. Police executives must find innovative ways to retain officers at accommodate their

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