A few quick thoughts on recent news stories:
› The news that the graduation of Chattanooga’s largest police academy will bring the department’s vacancy rate down to single digits and to 0% by the time the next academy starts is gratifying news indeed.
For decades, the department has struggled to keep its vacancy rate even in the high single digits. This newspaper, and the two newspapers that were its forerunners, have written numerous stories over the past several decades about the department’s efforts to recruit minorities specifically and officers in general.
In the past, retirements, terminations and separations for other reasons — including officers taking jobs for higher pay — have kept the vacancy numbers from edging close to zero. Higher pay — thanks to higher city property taxes — the ability to recruit across state lines and other marketing efforts have made a difference, officials say.