HUNTINGTON -- The Huntington Police Department looks different today than it did nine months ago when Police Chief Skip Holbrook took his oath of office.
Perhaps the change closest to the street-level is the re-establishment of a traffic unit. Huntington Police Lt. Hank Dial said the unit is staffed by four day-shift officers who fall within the Patrol Bureau's command. Its responsibilities include traffic enforcement and accident investigations.
Traffic was not a staffed unit prior to Holbrook's arrival. He believed it was important to re-institute the unit.
"We're able to increase our presence in the business district," he said. "We're able to re-establish the fact that there are traffic laws to follow in town. It was like a race track around here."
The department has established a tele-reporter system. It enables citizens to report lower priority crimes, such as larcenies, via telephone from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Administrative personnel handle daytime reporting, while injured/light-duty officers handled nighttime reporting.
Inside the department, Holbrook realigned the bureau commanders. His actions reallocated duties to make the positions more equitable. It lessened the load on some captains, while increasing the workload on others.
Included within the captain realignments was the creation of a Professional Standards Bureau. It placed added emphasis on internal affairs investigations, policy review procedures and compliance. The revamped bureau investigated 23 complaints, including 16 formal complaints filed by citizens. Of the total inquiries, six resulted in some finding of wrongdoing or policy violation.
Holbrook also is working to increase training within the department. He requested a $47,000 increase in the department's training budget. He assured City Council the funds would be used to train his officers, not administrators.
"We have officers that are in sensitive, investigative positions that have never had any specialized training beyond on-the-job training," he told City Council. "We have supervisors that are shift commanders that are making very critical personnel decisions and manpower deployment that have never had any formal, supervisory training. I would just contend to you that is just not an effective and good way to do business, and I think we owe it to the men and women to correct this and get them opportunities."
Holbrook transformed the K-9 unit into a stand-alone unit. He also increased the bike patrol, and he is creating a special emphasis unit. Officer time used to support the latter units are paid with overtime funds.
The restructuring effort also included strengthening relationships with other agencies, such as State Police and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.
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