By Joanna Putman
Police1
GOLDEN, Colo. — After a successful pilot program, the Golden Police Department will extend its 32-hour work week experiment, CBS News reported.
The pilot program was launched to keep the department fully staffed in the face of a shortage of officer applications, according to the report. The officers and civilian workers of the department did not have benefits cut and were still paid their 40-hour workweek salaries. But they only work four, eight-hour days per week.
“We are still seeing response times that are typically less than the response times under the previous schedule. We are seeing more calls for service activity under that previous model, and we have a level of morale and engagement with the staff that is in the 90-plus percentile,” Golden City Manager Scott Vargos said.
Several officers reported positive impacts on their personal lives away from work, according to the report.
“I’m able to make more of my kids’ outings at school and be present with their academies… I’m less stressed,” Crime Scene Investigator Latar Durand said.
