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Mutual Aid and Minimum Staffing <br />Mutual Aid is critically necessary in smaller cities both in police and fire <br />services. Even the largest cities rely on mutual aid in their outlying areas in order <br />to get assistance to a location quickly. <br />Paris is in a difficult position in this regard. Paris, unlike some of the <br />comparison cities, is the major population center for not only Lamar County but <br />surrounding counties as well. The City of Paris does have a mutual aid <br />agreement with Lamar County and the Sheriff's Department may be able to <br />provide some assistance in the event of an emergency, but due to their <br />responsibility to patrol the County, they may not be close at hand. Surrounding <br />police agencies are small and could not reasonably assist with more than a <br />single officer - even if they had one working. For immediate emergencies such <br />as high priority calls - where citizens have been injured or are in immediate <br />danger - or to backup local officers when confronting dangerous situations - <br />Paris must be able to stand on its own for at least a short period of time. <br />Understanding this and based on both the violent crime, distance and availability <br />of mutual aid assistance, and the need for immediate back up and protection, <br />there should be a minimum staffing level established on each shift. <br />Currently the department has a minimum staffing of six on days and <br />nights. Even with the current staffing of seven officers on each shift plus a <br />Supervisor, there are a number of times when field staffing drops to five including <br />the supervisor due to vacancies, approved leaves and unexpected absences due <br />to illnesses or family emergencies. This is not usually a problem on day shift, as <br />there are a number of Command Staff personnel, investigators and other officers <br />available in an emergency. On night shift however, fewer than six can create a <br />significant problem. One major accident on a highway, which can take hours to <br />clear and one additional two officer call can deplete the entire patrol staff for the <br />city. While this does not happen often, the danger faced by officers and citizens <br />Page 31 <br />