Grand Island Police Department trying 12-hour shifts

There was a time when Grand Island Police Chief Steve Lamken was a big opponent to law enforcement working 12-hour shifts -- now he's a major proponent.

So much so that the Grand Island Police Department converted Aug. 18 to two 12-hour shifts beginning and ending at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.

"I've been looking at this for a decade or more," Lamken said. "Originally, I thought it was bad for law enforcement, but the more I read about it and saw how it worked in other departments, I became an advocate."

The reason -- under a 12-hour shift, officers work seven out of 14 days instead of the 10 out of 14 they were working under the department's 8-hour shift schedule.

"When working officers are also operating under a level of hypervigilance --something could happen, this next contact could be dangerous or a risk -- there's this constant level of hypervigilance and critical stress," Lamken said. "Research has shown that on a five-day work schedule because of this hypervigilance, it takes about 48 hours for an officer to get back down to a normal level."

Under the old work schedule of working five days and being off two, it meant that by the time officers were destressed, they were headed back to work.

"To break the cycle of the hypervigilance and cumulative stress (in law enforcement), the more time away from the job, the better off,"  Lamken said. "Twelve-hour shifts give officers more time away from the job. That time away allows the stress level to go back down."

It's a destressing that officers have already noticed.

"Six to six can be a long day, but now that I'm getting used to it -- there's more time to myself," Officer Janet Mead said.

Sgt. Dale Hilderbrand, who is the president of the police officers union, said it's still a new schedule that everyone is getting accustomed to, but so far, so good.

"Everybody seems to like it," he said.

One thing he really likes is the consistency.

"It's a recurring schedule -- I can look at a date a year from now and tell you if it's my day off."

That consistency allows for officers to plan ahead, book vacation time around regular days off and prepare for special family events or community volunteering activities, Hilderbrand said.

Lamken said officers still work 80 hours during a 14-day period, but they break up the days more so officers have more time away from work. They work 60 hours one week and 20 the next.

It works like this: Officers work two days, are off two days, work three days, are off two, work two more (a 12-hour day plus an 8-hour day) and then are off three days in a row.

"One week I work five days and the next week I work two," Mead said. "And everybody gets every other weekend off."

Under the department's former schedule of three eight-hour shifts, some officers only had days off during the week. With weekday court hearings, they were often called in on those days off to testify.

Mead also likes the days off during the week. That's  helpful in getting certain errands run -- such as licensing a vehicle.

Although Lamken was initially concerned about officer fatigue with 12-hour shifts, he said research doesn't point to that as a problem. Twelve-hour shifts have long been common in the public safety and health care arena. Hospitals use them. Jails use them.

Mead said she used to get off at 3 p.m., but often was held over or felt hurried to finish a call. Now, with the extra time, she feels better able to respond to calls and take the time they need.

Lamken said the shift changes at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. seem to be a better break time for completing paperwork. The night shift slows down around 3 a.m., so paperwork can be completed, whereas day shift paperwork can be completed the following morning between 6 and 7:30 a.m. if need be.

Mead said another benefit is a few more officers on the streets at certain times. Former shifts had about four to five officers each. Now there are seven to eight, she said.

On the administrative side of things, Lamken said the shifts of police sergeants now match up with the officers they supervise. In the past, officers may work two-thirds of their shifts without the sergeant who evaluates them due to the variety of days off under the old schedule.

The old schedule was three eight-hour shifts -- 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. and 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Converting to the 12-hour shifts didn't require any new equipment purchases for vehicles or otherwise, but it's not expected to save money either such as on overtime expense.

Lamken said officers on 12-hour shifts may still get stuck on a long call at the end of a shift or get called into a court hearing on their days off.

The new shifts have been a bit challenging to schedule to make sure there's a distribution of police officers with a variety of skill sets -- bilingual, bike patrols, gun experts and training officers.

Lamken said it's also a challenge for officers who have families and had been working the overnight shift in order to drop off or pick up children in school or to help coach youth sports teams.

"We're hoping the extra days off will help them tie back into their families," he said.

With just one complete two-week cycle completed, Lamken said officers, families and the department itself are still adjusting to the change.

He plans to re-evaluate the move in about three to four months and will consider efficiencies, employee feedback, communication between shifts and commands and the fatigue factor.

"Overall, morale will be better," Mead predicted. "Everybody gets a chance to get a weekend off.”