SALISBURY - Two years after Salisbury cut its patrol duty from 24 hours per day to 18, some residents say response time is too slow.
During off-hours, officers are still on-call, and the Chariton County Sheriff helps out. Salisbury Police Chief James Cole wishes the city could afford a 24-hour patrol, but understands the city's budget issues.
"Towns typically under 2,000 don't have 24-hour police coverage anyway because of funding available," he said.
City Clerk Tonna McSparren says she personally agrees with the idea of the six-hour cut.
"That's because I set the numbers and I do the pay roll and I do the budget with assistance," she said.
Salisbury resident Kim Harman says the current response time by officers is too slow.
"They don't necessarily patrol the 18 hours they're on, so I don't know it's gonna make any difference," said Harman.
While one source would not go on record, he said he would not even call 911 in Salisbury because the response time is so slow.
Share on Newsvine
