Dear Editor,

I am writing out of concern and support for Chief Cliff Couch, the Great Bend Police Department, and the citizens of Great Bend. I have had the pleasure of getting to know Chief Couch over the last few years after he was hired as the Chief of Police for the City of Great Bend. I have had the opportunity to work side by side with him on committees and projects for the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police, as well as the occasional lunch and opportunity to stop by his office when I have had business in Great Bend. I think it is important for the city administration and the citizens of Great Bend to know they have a very levelheaded, capable, concerned, and professional Chief of Police. Chief Couch is very proud of his Police Department and the community it serves, and has expressed that to me, personally, on more than a few occasions. I believe he lives for every opportunity he has to makes his community safe and a place where folks want to live and visit.
I would like you all to consider some of the impact a less-than-adequate staffed police department has on a community. The No. 1 issue being safety. Not just for the officers working the long hours, but for the community they serve. Tired, burned out officers cannot possibly provide the superior level of service a community deserves and demands of their police department.
Great Bend is a business and retail hub for a lot of smaller towns, including my town of St. John. My family and I, along with thousands of others, have several options of where we can choose to travel to buy groceries, dine out, or seek entertainment. When we no longer feel safe to visit your community, or feel safer visiting another community, the economic impact can and will be felt. Although that should be low on the list of reasons to maintain staffing of your police department, it is still important in the revenue required to provide the funding.
I have been employed with the St. John Police Department since 2004, and have been the Chief of Police here since 2012. I can speak from experience about the problems that go with an understaffed department. We experienced the same situation from 2011-2014. Since 2014 my department has been adequately staffed, and I can also speak to what that has done for the relationships with the community we serve as well as the downward trend in our crime rate. Although we are nowhere near the size of town and department as Great Bend, I am confident you will see many more positives than negatives by ensuring your police department is adequately staffed and compensated.
Chief Couch is a man of integrity who wants to provide the best possible environment for his staff and the public they serve. He was hired to lead the police department and I would encourage the city administration to allow him to do just that and heed his counsel above all else in the manner in which the Police Department should be operated.

Chief Adam Sayler
St. John Police Department