Fremont County’s multi-jurisdictional law enforcement team is planning to spend some extra time in Riverton in the coming months to help cut down on the number of calls coming into the Riverton Police Department, Shoshoni Police Department Chief Chris Konija said Tuesday.
The SPD has already been sending officers to Riverton to assist the RPD in recent weeks, Konija told the Shoshoni Town Council during a regular meeting Tuesday, but he’s worried that the practice will eventually lead to “burnout” among SPD officers – who responded to about the same number of calls during five shifts in Riverton as Shoshoni receives in an entire month.
“A community helps each other, and we are trying to help,” Konija said. “However, we’re trying to find better ways to help than just sending our officers over there one at a time, because the workload and the hours start to take a toll.”
Now, he said, all of Fremont County’s law enforcement agencies will be able to participate in the “good neighbor” effort as part of the multi-jurisdictional team.
“That team was designed to be able to go where we’re needed, when we’re needed, as a collaborative team,” Konija said. “So … we re-shifted some of the focus areas to Riverton to provide assistance (until) they can get back up to where they need to be.”
The multi-jurisdictional team won’t necessarily respond to RPD calls, Konija noted, but their presence will likely have an impact on the amount of illegal activity taking place in the area.
“It’s a miracle,” he said. “When there are cops around, people don’t tend to break the law – and that’s what we’re trying to do. … Overwhelm (the) area with presence.”
The strategy should help the RPD avoid officer burnout too, he said, and it will benefit Shoshoni residents who work in Riverton and are “impacted by the current atmosphere” there.
For more information call the SPD at 876-2600.