Police Merit Commissions mainly function as a bodies charged with administering proposed discipline for members of a police department.  The Fishers Police Merit Commission must meet a minimum of 2 times per year, once in August and again in February.  Recently, the local commission has had no discipline cases to consider, so Chief Mitch Thompson uses the occasion to update commission members on what is happening around his department.

Here are some of the items covered in the Wednesday morning session:

Proposed Nickel Plate Trail Security 

Chief Thompson says he doesn’t see the trail as a burden on his department, but an amenity for the entire community.  The new Police Headquarters building will be located next to the trail.  “From a crime perspective, I don’t see it (as  problem),” Thompson told commission members.

Diversity

Fishers Police are making every effort to keep the department ethnically diverse. Thompson says if there is any shortage locally it is in female officers, but state physical requirements for new recruits, which are the same for both males and females, make recruiting female police officers a challenge.  The Chief says Fishers Police currently employ 6 African-Americans, 4 females, 1 Asian and 1 Hispanic.

2018 Budget

The Chief says he will propose a flat operating budget for his department for 2018.  He will ask for additional staffing.  Fishers Police are currently authorized for 111 sworn, uniformed officers. There are 108 on duty now, with new prospects in the hiring process. Thompson lauded work done by civilian personnel in the department’s Intelligence Unit, which has effectively used social media in locating crime suspects.

New Police Headquarters Building

The adjacent parking garage for the new police headquarters building is already under construction and if everything is completed on schedule, department staff will begin moving into the new headquarters facility at this time next year.  The city is forced to rent space in two additional locations due to the growth of the department.  Thompson says there will be some cost savings when the entire Police Department is under one roof in the new facility.