Star City Police fully staffed for the first time in five years

BRIDGEPORT, W.Va (WDTV) - While many police agencies in the state face staffing shortages, one is now at full staff.

For the first time in at least five years the Star City Police won’t have to deal with being understaffed.

Star City Police Chief Jessica Colebank said they have already started getting ready for the changes.

“It is officially going to happen July first is when they officially start. We swore them in early just to get council done and hit the ground running with them on July first,” said Colebank.

Colebank was appointed chief of the star city police just under a month ago.

She is a big reason why they are now at full force.

“I just put the feelers out to quite a few officers that I know and said hey, if you know anyone looking for a change send them my way.”

The years of being understaffed took a toll on the department.

“It was a lot of overtime and a lot of stress on each officer. Working extra days, not having time off to spend with family, it can get very difficult to not get frustrated easily. Officers need that downtime. Any first responder needs downtime in a stressful job,” said Colebank.

Colebank said the current officers are ready for the change.

“They’re very excited to be fully staffed. We’ll also have two officers on at a time. For a while we only had one on at a time so, you’re running solo by yourself in the town. Now we’ll have extra protection in the town, more coverage during peak hours so, all-around benefits.”

Colebank said having extra officers will help monitor speeding and distracted driving in the summer months.

She also encourages anyone who wants to get into law enforcement to reach out to their local police.

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