Sikeston Dept. of Public Safety Patrol Division to move to 10-hour shifts
SIKESTON, Mo. (KFVS) - The Sikeston Department of Public Safety Patrol Division will be moving from 8-hour shifts to 10-hour shifts.
According to a release from the city, the change was approved by the Sikeston City Council at their Monday, March 27 meeting, and will take effect starting with the new budget cycle, which begins July 1.
They say the current patrol division schedule is based on the standard five-day work week with officers working 8.3 hours per day. Shifts are scheduled for 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. and 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. with no overlapping coverage.
The new schedule would change this to a four-day work week with 10.3 hour shifts for officers, giving a two-hour overlap between shift changes.
“With an eight-hour shift, when the other shift comes in to replace them, if they don’t have all their paperwork done then they have to stay and finish,” Capt. Jon Broom of Sikeston DPS said in the release. “With that overlap, when the other shift comes in, they’ll be able to work on any paperwork they have.”
City leaders say the overlap also provides more coverage on patrol, or so officers can complete additional assigned duties like transporting prisoners or mental health transports.
They said the overlap would eliminate the need for officers to work overtime to finish extra tasks. They said salary and accrual rates will be adjusted to eliminate any financial impact to the city and officers.
In order to do the 10-hour shifts, a minimum staffing level is required, and Sikeston DPS now meets that level.
The city said the department is only in need of one officer after being short as many as 17 officers in recent years.
Broom said Sikeston was one of the last law enforcement agencies to have an 8-hour shift as most use the 10-hour or 12-hour model.
“I talked to a lot of the officers to get their feedback and they thought it was a really good idea,” Broom said, adding it will improve morale.
He also said he hopes it will help with the recruitment and retention of officers by providing them with more work/life balance with an additional day off and reduce potential burnout.
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