Those pursuing the change want to replace the village police via a contract with the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office to provide law enforcement services.
The goal of the switch would be to save money and keep a consistent law enforcement presence in the village of around 2,000 people. The sheriff would appoint a sergeant to essentially serve at the village’s police chief, according to village council member Joe Curran.
The sergeant would be paid by the village, and this person would carry out a community policing plan, and coordinate with the Graham school district to increase policing during bus hours. A deputy, also paid by the village, would help the sergeant, and the two would work opposite shifts to cover the village.
The sheriff’s office would use current St. Paris Police cruisers, and the village would pay for maintenance while the sheriff’s office would pay the insurance. This force would work from village buildings on Main Street, “which means the center of town will effectively become a western Champaign County sheriff’s substation,” Curran said previously.
In a statement Curran read at the meeting that he shared with the News-Sun, the council member emphasized that the ordinance would not remove police protection from the village but was focused on outsourcing to the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office.
Curran said police officers everywhere are now retiring more quickly than new ones can be hired.
“This creates openings in large police departments for young officers who don’t need to start out in tiny villages like Saint Paris anymore. Which means policing is now very expensive,” Curran said. “Experienced officers are nearly impossible for a tiny village like ours to recruit and retain. If we try, we’re swimming against the tide, so we’ll be left to hire a revolving door of well-paid yet inexperienced rookie officers.”
The proposal to cover the village with a sergeant and deputy would be slightly less than 92 hours a week, but Curran said part-time deputies could help with this, as could turning the village building into a sheriff outpost.
Some concerns the council has heard include the issue being rushed, turnover being the mayor or Curran’s fault and that the numbers presented are inaccurate.
Curran said the numbers are accurate, the issue has been “openly discussed” for almost a year and it is time to consider it as a new budget is passed and the turnover rate is the fault of no one.
The current system does not work, Curran said, with 17 resignations in two-and-a-half years, no patrol officers and no pending applications.
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