In a Facebook Live session Tuesday morning, the Little Rock Police Department answered residents’ questions on topics ranging from the department’s newest class of police officers to issues with the homeless community.
“We see this as an opportunity to connect with our community, to give you all the opportunity to speak directly with the police department, specifically the chief,” Chief Kenton Buckner said.
Buckner said residents sent in around 10 questions before the session started. Commenters sent in around 40 more questions throughout the course of the video.
Many of the questions focused on new recruits to the department, as well as the shortage of officers and a $5,000 signing bonus for new officers.
Buckner said there were around 70 vacancies in the department and that the signing bonus was engineered to attract new talent in order to fill those spots.
Other issues addressed:
• In addition to the shortage of police officers, Buckner said the city’s 911 communications center is understaffed because of the job’s high-stress nature. This, he said, contributes to a longer police response time.
• One person asked about how the department might help the Little Rock homeless community. Buckner said he felt the people of the city wanted the homeless to be treated in a “compassionate and humane way.” He told viewers that he planned to work with the city’s new homeless coordinator to help alleviate the problem.
• Several commenters were concerned about gang violence. Buckner said that while gang activity has gone down since the 1990s, it’s still a problem the department is trying to address.