Continuous elevated terror alerts and the stress it places on law enforcers may be starting to take its toll.
A recent story in the Washington Post by Sari Horwitz said over the Columbus Day weekend, more than 70 officers from the U.S. Capitol building called in sick. After weeks of 12 hour shifts and few days off, many of those officers claimed they were actually sick, according to the Post.
"The officers are extremely fatigued. They're really stressed out," said U.S. Capitol police officer Andy Maybo, chairman of the police union, which did not organize or support the action.
It's not just the Capitol police. All across the country — including Utah but especially in Washington and New York — police officers and federal agents say the heightened alert and the strain of working long hours with no end in sight are taking their toll. Experts on policing, police chiefs and the officers themselves wonder whether the law enforcement agencies can sustain the current staffing levels without a general change in policy by government agencies that would provide some financial and manpower relief.
In Utah, FBI special agent Bob Wright said he would be "less than honest if I said it wasn't taking a toll" on the agents.
"Yeah, it takes a toll. There are people giving up leave, people who will be away during the holidays. It is a sacrifice, but not without willing participants. It's all part of the job. It's all part of what we signed up for," Wright said.
Wright said every available resource at his office is currently being put toward making sure elections across the country are safe and run smoothly.
"We've been asked to supply people back in D.C. on a regular and routine basis and across the world," he said.
Because of that, some other areas like the Utah office's Violent Crimes Squad, which handles crimes such as bank robberies, has been working short-handed.
Wright said his office could always use more manpower, but was able to successfully deal with the current situation by prioritizing its duties.
"Our No. 1 priority is the safety of all Americans . . . to make sure people are safe and can go to the polls and exercise their right to vote in a safe manner," Wright said.
Salt Lake County Sheriff Aaron Kennard, who is also president of the National Sheriffs Association, said his office has had the same problems as police departments in Washington, D.C., and New York but to a lesser degree.
"I have experienced the comments. I meet with my people on a regular basis. They've expressed frustration they don't have enough manpower," Kennard said.
But Kennard also added that similar to the FBI, his deputies have "stepped up to the plate" and have not called in "sick."
He noted, however, "I don't know how long we can ask them to do this."
Salt Lake County and Utah have been better prepared than other states thanks to the 2002 Winter Olympics, Kennard said. He also said the state had been lucky to avoid major catastrophes during the heightened terror alerts.
Kennard said he felt particularly bad for the police departments of the southeast who have endured four hurricanes in addition to the terror alerts and heightened security for the upcoming elections.
"These poor sheriffs in the southeast are just getting hammered," he said.
The chiefs also have to worry about how to pay their bills. For some, that means asking the federal government to help pay for the vigilance.
Nationally, law enforcement officials and agency heads said that with the constant alerts, they will do what they have to do to keep the country safe, even when it means canceling annual leave or extending their officers' shifts.
Gary Hankins, president of a Washington consulting firm for police unions, said the result could be more fatigue like what occurred at the Capitol over the Columbus Day weekend.
"The human mind and body were not created to sustain a continuous heightened alert," said Hankins, who headed the D.C. police union for 12 years. "You need to significantly expand the number of people you have performing the services."
For Utah, Kennard said there is some good news in that Congress recently approved Homeland Security Funding for 2005, which for Utah will mean about $5 million in new funding.
E-mail: preavy@desnews.com