Keeping cops hard for Houston

Not long ago, the Houston Police Department didn’t exist because it had no officers.

Then order was restored when two were hired away from communities off the road system, one from Sand Point and another from Dillingham.

Less than two weeks on the job, the Sand Point officer quit and now Houston is back down to one keeper of the peace, Charlie Seidl, who arrived from Dillingham.

Why is it so hard to keep police officers in Houston?

Despite being in the popular Mat-Su Valley, the sprawling city isn’t in the core area, and there is a lot of ground to cover for a small department. The city’s Web site says Houston police patrol 24 square miles, including 10 miles of the Parks Highway, as well as the first several miles of Big Lake Road. The site says more than 10,000 vehicles travel through the city on a busy summer day. That’s a lot of work for one officer.

Perhaps the benefits package isn’t competitive enough, as cited by Jason Holmgren, who left for the Wasilla Police Department, leaving Houston with no cops in mid-November until early December. Or perhaps one requirement might be a deterrent. Houston officers must live in the city limits so they can be part of the community. That’s an ideal situation, but not one required of officers working in Palmer, Wasilla or Anchorage. However, Anchorage officers’ cruisers can’t leave the city limits, which is why commuters often see them parked on the highway near the Kink River bridge.

In May, Capt. John Rhyshek, the founder and head of the Houston department left after seven years on the job. No public word as to why he left.

So, are there internal problems? Or is Houston just not that great a place to be a police officer?

Houston Mayor Roger Purcell, once a cop himself, has said the process of hiring officers from Alaska’s far-flung municipalities should be a draw to a department because those candidates can see the benefit of nearby modern conveniences, shopping and entertainment available during their off hours. While on duty, they have the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility to work with as well as the courthouse in Palmer. And unlike Bush communities, state trooper support is readily at hand rather than being flown in.

It looks like there’s been some progress toward expanding the one-man squad.

Steve Cunningham, Houston city clerk, said the city has received “quite a few applications.” He said officers of various qualifications have applied from as far away as New York and Texas, as well as many from inside the state.

Right now, the search is for one officer, but Cunningham said the city council has approved the hiring of a chief to oversee the small department.

“We’re being very picky,” Cunningham said.

That’s as it should be.

And if there is something amiss regarding how the department is being run that drives an officer away after only a couple of weeks on the job, then somebody should look into that and see that it’s corrected.

It’s not right that the state troopers should have the burden of being Houston’s police force.

Here’s hoping the proud and the few of the Houston Police Department can be solidified and effective for years to come.