By Alexandra Kukulka
The Daily Southtown
OAK FOREST, Ill. — Oak Forest police officers will work 12-hour shifts in the new year, allowing officers to have a three-day weekend every other week, as a trial period to determine if the schedule change works and helps with officer retention and recruitment, officials said.
The Oak Forest patrol division will shift from working 8.5- to 12-hour shifts: from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., said union President Sgt. Michael Lynch Jr.
The shift was agreed to by the Oak Forest Police Department administration and the union after over a year of discussion, Lynch said.
“We brought the schedule change up. We wanted to make sure it was a mutual thing with the administration and the union so it benefited everyone,” he said.
When talking with the patrol officers, Lynch said a lot of the newer police officers stated they worked for other departments that did 12-hour shifts, which gave them more time to spend with family.
“It had a lot to do with recruitment and retention,” Lynch said. “It seems they want 12 hours and family time.”
Oak Forest police Chief Jason Reid said the shift is a big change, but after discussion with union leaders and patrol officers the administration decided to try it for a year and make potential adjustments if needed.
Reid said new officers asked for 12-hour shifts to maintain the schedule they’re used to working at other departments. But some officers, who have had more experience on the force, expressed concern about reducing their personal time on days they work, he said.
“The majority of the new officers wanted it,” Reid said. “We will not sacrifice the quality of a candidate to bolster numbers.”
Oak Forest police officers now work the 8.5-hour shifts four days in a row and then have two days off, Reid said. Under the 12-hour schedule, officers will have rotating three-day weekends.
Officers now have a full weekend off every six weeks, Reid said, with the department having three shifts with three squads per shift, which translates to about four to five officers on patrol at a time.
The schedule for 12-hour shifts changes to two squads per shift, which translates to eight officers on patrol during each shift when accounting for those who will have days off, he said.
“We currently typically don’t see that,” Reid said.
In Dolton, the police officers work 8.5-hour shifts and are scheduled to work four days and then have two days off, said police Chief Robert Collins.
A few months ago, Collins said he had to temporarily place his officers on 12-hour shifts because of reduced staffing following retirements and resignations. The officers still work four days and then have two days of under the 12-hour schedule, he said.
As the department hires more police officers, Collins said he hopes to put the officers back on an 8.5-hour schedule in February 2023.
“The younger members of the department prefer 12-hour shifts. However, the more seasoned officers don’t particularly enjoy working 12-hours,” Collins said.
In Palos Park, police officers have been working 12-hour shifts since the 1980s, said police Chief Joe Miller. The police officers “relish the time off and every other weekend off” under the 12-hour shift schedule, he said.
“We operate exceptionally well under them,” Miller said. “It works very well here and always something the collective bargaining unit wants to maintain at contract negotiation time.”
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