• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Send News
  • Subscribe

Oak Ridge Today

  • Home
  • Sign in
  • News
    • Business
    • Community
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Police and Fire
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • Weather
  • Sports
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Recreation
    • Rowing
    • Youth
  • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Dancing
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Premium Content
  • Obituaries
  • Classifieds

 

The numbers: ORPD turnover 2007-2015

Posted at 9:26 am May 4, 2015
By John Huotari 9 Comments

James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

Turnover in the Oak Ridge Police Department is one of several issues at the heart of a contentious debate over the ORPD and its chief, James T. Akagi.

But since the debate started in late January, there hasn’t been much public discussion of how the turnover rate compares, in either numbers or percentages, to the rate before Akagi started on July 1, 2011.

Information requested by Oak Ridge Today and provided by the Oak Ridge Personnel Department and Personnel Director Penny Sissom sheds some light. That data goes back more than eight years, starting in Calendar Year 2007. That’s roughly 4.5 years before Akagi started and more than 3.5 years since.

Oak Ridge Today analyzed the data by calendar year (January-December) and fiscal year (July 1-June 30). The data shows that ORPD turnover ebbs and flows from year to year, with a high of 19 and a low of one.

Oak Ridge Police Department Turnover (2007-2015)

Here are the numbers by calendar year (CY), from January to December, based on city data:

  • CY 2007—19
  • CY 2008—8
  • CY 2009—3
  • CY 2010—7
  • CY 2011—18 (9 before Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi started July 1, 9 after)
  • CY 2012—10
  • CY 2013—7
  • CY 2014—7
  • Partial year (CY 2015)—3

Here are the numbers by fiscal year (FY), a period that starts July 1 each year and ends June 30 the next:

  • FY 2007-08—14
  • FY 2007-09—9
  • FY 2009-10—1
  • FY 2010-11—15
  • FY 2011-12—16 (First year under Akagi)
  • FY 2012-13—3
  • FY 2013-14—11
  • Partial year (FY 2014-15)—6
Advertisement

The Oak Ridge Police Department has 78 total budgeted positions, including supervisors, patrol, clerical, dispatch, and the animal shelter. These numbers do not include school crossing guards.

By calendar year, the high point of 19 occurred in Calendar Year 2007 under former Oak Ridge Police Chief David H. Beams, according to the city data. The low point of one in Fiscal Year 2009-2010 was also under Beams.

By fiscal year, a high point of 16 occurred in the first full fiscal year under Akagi (July 1, 2011-June 30, 2012).

Other peaks included:

  • Calendar Year 2011, when there 18 terminations (nine before Akagi started and nine after);
  • Fiscal Year 2010-2011, the fiscal year before Akagi started, when there were 15; and
  • Fiscal Year 2007-2008, when there 14.

Other low points of three each were in Calendar Year 2009 (Beams) and in Fiscal Year 2012-2013 (Akagi).

There were 25 terminations in the three fiscal years before Akagi started, and 30 in the three years after he started. Terminations include resignations, retirements, dismissals, deaths, and removals.

The numbers show a range of terminations in some other years between seven and 10.

“Amazing when you actually look at more data than has been thrown around in the news,” said Oak Ridge City Council member Kelly Callison, who proposed a 30-day review of the Police Department by a University of Tennessee agency. That inquiry has been approved by City Council. “Sorry to say that this was not the first thing the Council asked for before we launched our review.”

Callison said City Council took the turnover numbers provided by Council member Trina Baughn, who has requested an investigation of the chief and his department on several fronts, “as somehow out of the ordinary, when, in fact, they are not so different from what we were seeing before.” Those numbers “conveniently started at the beginning of Chief Akagi’s term,” Callison said.

Advertisement

But Baughn said the current City Council has not heard complaints of retaliation and low morale from officers who departed prior to 2011.

“We have, however, heard from at least 10 past and present officers who have asked us for our help,” she said. “They have let us know that we cannot rely on anyone other than the individuals themselves for the reasons behind their departures. Thus, we’ve initiated an investigative process.”

Baughn has estimated the turnover rate as 15 percent per year or 40 percent total since Akagi started almost four years ago. She has said the ORPD turnover rate appears to be higher than the city-wide turnover rate and significantly higher than the rate in the Knoxville Police Department. In late January, Baughn said the employees that have left the Oak Ridge Police Department had 335 years of experience, with an average tenure of 11 years.

“Without context, one might infer from your statistics that we’ve suffered up to a 100 percent turnover rate since 2007,” Baughn said when asked for comment on the numbers provided by Oak Ridge Today, which were based on city data. “We know that is not true, but it is clear that we’ve suffered an attrition rate much greater than our nearest competitors.”

Turnover is one of three issues expected to be examined in the review of the ORPD by the Municipal Technical Advisory Service at UT. The other two are morale and administrative policies. The Oak Ridge City Council is scheduled to continue discussing that MTAS review during a Tuesday evening work session.

City officials say that turnover in the Oak Ridge Police Department is not new. It was a topic that was sometimes discussed during budget talks in the mid- to late-2000s when Beams met with the City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee. At the time, at least some of the officers were reported to have left ORPD to go work as security police officers at U.S. Department of Energy sites in Oak Ridge. Officials say the Oak Ridge Fire Department also sometimes lost employees to the federal facilities.

Several officials and police officers have suggested that the numbers don’t tell the whole story. That would appear to include Baughn and Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson.

“Interesting stats,” Watson said when asked for comment on the turnover numbers. “However, each number has a reason as you have eluded to.”

Advertisement

In a termination analysis prepared by the Oak Ridge Personnel Department and requested by Oak Ridge Today, not all of the job terminations between 2007 and 2015 had comments. But for those that did, there were a range of explanations. In some cases, employees took another job, sometimes out of state, sometimes in-state, and sometimes with the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Anderson County, or Wackenhut (the former federal security contractor in Oak Ridge). In others, a resignation was requested. Sometimes, employees resigned for family reasons or to pursue another career or to work “straight days.” There were also retirements, a few deaths, two dismissals, and one removal. One employee resigned to run for sheriff, another for medical reasons, and one to go to law school.

Most of the terminations applied to police officers, but other positions listed included chief, lieutenant, sergeant, detective, dispatcher, lead records specialist, administrative assistant, animal control, records technician, and trainee.

The numbers do not include school crossing guards, but they do include the animal shelter, supervisors, and the police chief on down.

Among at least a few current officers, there seems to be a concern that, in essence, the city has lost some good officers, and they want City Council to find out why. A few current officers have expressed concern about the relative lack of experience, particularly in the patrol division.

ORPD Officer John Thomas told City Council in April that there are only three patrol officers that have more than 10 years experience, and the division is “running short.” Some officers are leaving to go to neighboring agencies for lower pay and less benefits, Thomas said.

Officer Kyle Scott told Council that he has worked for ORPD for almost four years, and out of a 60-man department, he’s already been there longer than half of those in the patrol division.

Although the City Council didn’t initially agree to interview former workers, they have since expanded the scope of the MTAS review to possibly include former ORPD employees. But it’s not clear yet if MTAS, which had already started its inquiry using a random sample or cross-section of current employees, will agree to the expanded review.

A number of officials and residents have said they wouldn’t be surprised if there was initially some high turnover when Akagi started in 2011, pointing out that there is often significant change when a new manager starts.

“I have never been concerned about the first-year numbers,” Callison said. “There were lots of changes, and I am sure a number of the officers didn’t like them and decided to leave. You might even say that, anticipating changes following the retirement of Chief Beams, officers left the force even before Chief Akagi took charge.”

He said a complete analysis of turnover would also have to factor in things like the state of the economy, supplemental funding from Congress that allowed police departments to hire additional officers, growth of surrounding local police forces and the state police force, etc., “to really understand what was driving the turnover rate.”

Still, he said a review of morale, turnover, and administrative policies is worthwhile.

“(It’s) always good to get an independent review of where things are,” Callison said.

“I also think it would be worthwhile to pursue at least state accreditation of our police force,” he said. “Just another selling point why new families would want to chose Oak Ridge as the place to live.”

CPD, KPD turnover

Oak Ridge Today also requested information about turnover from a few other local law enforcement agencies.

Here are numbers provided by Clinton Police Chief Rick Scarbrough.

  • 2014—0
  • 2013—4
  • 2012—1
  • 2011—4
  • 2010—0
  • 2009—3
  • 2008—0
  • 2007—1

“We really don’t have a lot of turnover,” Scarbrough said.

The Clinton Police Department had 26 sworn officers from 2007 to 2013, added one position in 2013 to increase the size of the force to 27, and now has 30. That includes employees from the newest worker to the chief.

As in Oak Ridge, officers in Clinton leave for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it’s disciplinary, sometimes to go work for another department or to go to college, and sometimes the departure is over salary, for family reasons or to live in a new location, or to work at federal facilities in Oak Ridge. Officers have been gained and lost for some of those reasons, which can include working conditions.

Scarbrough attributes the low turnover at CPD to a culture of professionalism through training, work environment, and providing necessary equipment.

He said the entry level pay in Clinton is about $3,500 to $4,000 less than in Oak Ridge, and he hopes to increase the pay at CPD.

Scarbrough said the Police Department invests about $17,000 in someone—including academy, salary, benefits, field training, and equipment—even before they start in a car by themselves. The city can end up investing $100,000 in an employee, including time, money, and equipment.

Darrell DeBusk, public information officer for the Knoxville Police Department, also provided turnover information. But he sent a caveat.

“Please keep in mind that comparing ORPD with KPD is really not a fair comparison,” DeBusk said. “It really is apples to oranges.”

Like Watson and others, he suggested there is more to the story than just numbers.

“An outside chief is always brought in for a reason and that is to make change,” DeBusk said. “You have to dig deeper to get to the reasons for people leaving. Some are asked to leave. Some leave for other opportunities. Some leave out of frustration from change, which in most cases is because they were not selected to become the new chief or were reassigned for whatever reason.”

Here are the KPD numbers. The Department has 403 sworn officers with an authorized strength of 417, and the KPD has about 103 civilian employees.

  • 2014—14
  • 2013—16
  • 2012—11
  • 2011—18
  • 2010—12
  • 2009—15
  • 2008—20
  • 2007—25

Those numbers include terminations, retirements, resignations, and deaths. Resignations were the reason cited most often. Some of the resignations came from recruits during field training phases.

Blue flu

It’s not the first time there has been discontent in the Oak Ridge Police Department. During the “blue flu” in September 1978, employees requested a 15 percent salary increase, union recognition, and improvements in their benefits, Sissom said. Employees picketing in front of City Hall were given specific orders to return to work, and they were told they would be deemed insubordinate if they didn’t and would be terminated. The employees returned to work, Sissom said.

The workers announced at a football game on October 6, 1978, that they were going into a 40-day cooling-off period, and their demands were not met, Sissom said.

Filed Under: Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: administrative policies, blue flu, Clinton Police Department, CPD, Darrell DeBusk, David H. Beams, James T. Akagi, Jim Akagi, John Thomas, Kelly Callison, Knoxville Police Department, KPD, Kyle Scott, Mark Watson, morale, MTAS, Municipal Technical Advisory Service, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Personnel Department, Oak Ridge Police Department, ORPD, ORPD turnover, Penny Sissom, review, Rick Scarbrough, Trina Baughn, University of Tennessee, UT

Advertisements

 



Join the club!

If you appreciate our work, please consider subscribing. Besides helping us, your subscription will give you access to our premium content.

Some of our stories are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our members—advertisers, subscribers, and sponsors.

But some are premium content, available only to members. Those are in-depth, investigative, or exclusive stories that are available only on Oak Ridge Today. They generally require significant time to report, write, and publish.

You can subscribe for as little as $5 per month.

You can read more about your options here.

We currently offer five primary subscription options to readers, and they include benefits.

Basic

  • Basic monthly subscription ($5 per month)—access premium content
  • Basic annual subscription ($60 per year)—access premium content

Pro

  • Pro monthly subscription ($10 per month)—access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month
  • Pro annual subscription ($100 per year)—save $20 per year, access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month

Temporary

  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here.

If you prefer to send a check for a subscription or donation, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Thank you for your consideration and for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support.

Commenting Guidelines

We welcome comments, but we ask you to follow a few guidelines:

1) Please use your real name, including last name. Please also use a valid e-mail address.
2) Be civil. Don't insult others, attack their character, or get personal.
3) Stick to the issues.
4) No profanity.
5) Keep your comments to a reasonable length and to a reasonable number per article.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these guidelines. Comments held for review, usually from those posting for the first time, may not post if they violate these guidelines. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you also for reading Oak Ridge Today and for participating in the discussion.

More information is available here.

Comments

  1. Joseph Lee says

    May 4, 2015 at 10:50 am

    John, thank you for this report. The numbers speak for themselves. It’s time to move on.

    Reply
    • Matt Bailey says

      May 4, 2015 at 11:12 am

      Oh my. I must congratulate John – he’s obviously been working overtime on this. It’s amazing that a staff of one or two can outwork the KNS and all of its employees.
      Secondly, some astonishing numbers. Mr. Callison has proven once again that you cannot take his fellow Council member at her word. When the smoke clears, it seems there’s frequently a different story.
      I am betting that this isn’t the only bit of good news OR will receive this week. Slowly, bit by bit, the “other side” of the story continues to unfold.

      Reply
  2. Angi Agle says

    May 4, 2015 at 12:39 pm

    John, this is a great piece of investigative work. Thank you for providing the whole story, once again.

    Reply
  3. Charlie Jernigan says

    May 4, 2015 at 12:55 pm

    John, do you have the head count authorized and filled for the years in question?

    Reply
  4. Philip W Nipper says

    May 4, 2015 at 12:59 pm

    It really is much ado about nothing isn’t it? I for one am disappointed in our council for what appears to be knee jerk reaction to the constant “squeaking wheel” in their midst. I hope some lessons learned from this embarrassing saga will be captured by the group and not repeated in the future. John, I applaud your investigative work. Well done!

    Reply
  5. Mark Harvey says

    May 4, 2015 at 1:29 pm

    Nice work, John!

    Reply
  6. Dave Smith says

    May 5, 2015 at 12:23 am

    The reference to officer John Thomas in the above article brings to mind a name for one of those who left the ORPD in 2010, during the waning days of chief Beams’ tenure, back in the glory days.

    http://oakridgetoday.com/2013/02/20/former-officer-drops-lawsuit-that-alleged-hostile-workplace-sexual-rumors/#more-17602

    Yep, those were the days of exemplary professionalism in the ORPD, when some officers used the ride-along program for cheap dates and tawdry sex.

    http://www.knoxnews.com/news/local-news/officer-files-complaints-quits

    I think it’s possible to consider the situation where a new chief comes in and 16 people leave as “a damned good start.”

    Reply
  7. Mark Caldwell says

    May 5, 2015 at 9:22 am

    Thank you John. It’s refreshing to have some hard data to consider.

    Reply
  8. Lucky Vogt says

    May 5, 2015 at 9:26 pm

    Thank you for going the extra mile to provide additional information and context. Nice reporting.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More Government News

Anderson County Courthouse

Anderson County government offices closed Monday, Tuesday

Anderson County government offices will be closed Monday and Tuesday, July 3-4, to observe Independence Day. The offices will re-open at 8 a.m. Wednesday morning, July 5, a press release said. The Anderson County … [Read More...]

Fireworks show, music on July 4

Oak Ridge's annual fireworks show is scheduled to being at dark Tuesday, around 9:45 p.m. on Independence Day, July 4. There will be music before the show. The celebration, which is sponsored by the City of Oak Ridge, … [Read More...]

Library announces check-out changes

Ten days after celebrating renovations, the Oak Ridge Public Library has announced changes to its check-out procedures and policies that take effect on Saturday, July 1. Among the changes: The City of Oak Ridge … [Read More...]

USA Cycling Time Trial National Championships on Thursday

Oak Ridge Traffic Impacts Oak Ridge will host its fifth annual USA Cycling Individual Time Trial National Championships on Thursday, June 22. Elite cyclists nationwide will converge on the city, showcasing their skill … [Read More...]

Oak Ridgers celebrate library renovations

A standing-room-only crowd attended the grand re-opening celebration of renovations to the East Wing of the Oak Ridge Public Library on Tuesday. The renovations include a brand-new Children’s Room and bathrooms that … [Read More...]

More Government

More Police and Fire News

ORPD investigating fatal crash on South Illinois

The Oak Ridge Police Department is investigating a fatal crash on South Illinois Avenue that happened shortly before midnight Friday. In a press release, the City of Oak Ridge said a vehicle traveling south on South … [Read More...]

County sees increase in infant deaths due to unsafe sleeping practices

Anderson County Emergency Medical Services, County Mayor Terry Frank, and the chief medical examiner for both Knox and Anderson Counties are all urging the community—particularly parents and grandparents of children … [Read More...]

Briceville Fire Department celebrates new station

The Briceville Volunteer Fire Department celebrated its new fire station with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday. The ceremony included local residents and federal, state, and county officials, a press release … [Read More...]

Officers searching for suspect in fatal shooting

Officers are searching in Virginia for a suspect in a fatal shooting in Anderson County on Tuesday. The shooting was reported on Moores Gap Road in Heiskell, east of Clinton near Interstate 75, according to the … [Read More...]

DOE conducting controlled burns on Oak Ridge Reservation

The U.S. Department of Energy is conducting controlled burns of grassland areas on the Oak Ridge Reservation through mid-April, weather permitting. People may see smoke from this activity. However, smoke in Oak Ridge … [Read More...]

More Police and Fire

Recent Posts

  • ORPD investigating fatal crash on South Illinois
  • SNS on hiatus for upgrade
  • County sees increase in infant deaths due to unsafe sleeping practices
  • ASAP of Anderson welcomes new executive director
  • Briceville Fire Department celebrates new station
  • Officers searching for suspect in fatal shooting
  • Oak Ridge to host movie premiere of ‘Oppenheimer’
  • Oak Ridge Schools to host panel discussion, documentary screening for ‘Oppenheimer’
  • Sam Bush to headline Summer Sessions concert
  • Anderson County government offices closed Monday, Tuesday

Search Oak Ridge Today

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2023 Oak Ridge Today