Post Falls Police face staffing crunch amid city's growth
Ryan Dalke checks the laptop in his vehicle at the Post Falls Police station.
Law enforcement in Post Falls are one of several agencies in the area facing staffing and recruitment challenges. Working with the City of Post Falls has helped make wages more competitive for the department, but the time it takes to train new recruits has still left the department on longer shifts until trainees are ready to work on their own.
CAROLYN BOSTICK/Press
Post Falls Police Sgt. Ryan Dalke tests the lights on his police vehicle. Staffing the department proportionate to the growing population of Post Falls has been an issue over the last few years, with the lowest staffing count occurring six months ago.
Sgt. Ryan Dalke checks the gear in his police vehicle Thursday at Post Falls Police Department.
POST FALLS — As the city's population swells, the Post Falls Police Department grapples with a severe staffing shortage, forcing officers into grueling 12-hour shifts with no overlap.
Officer Ryan Dalke, who juggles multiple roles within the department, has witnessed the strain firsthand. "It's been kind of a downhill slide in the past few years," he said. "Six months ago, we had fewer employees than when I was hired in 2018. With how much the city is growing, it was a shrinking department. Our calls for service were increasing, but we have fewer people to handle them."
The department's lowest point saw a shortage of 13 officers — about 30% of its sworn force. In response, the Post Falls City Council approved hourly wage increases of up to $6 in December 2023, bringing entry-level pay to $30.60 per hour.
Despite these efforts, challenges persist. Chief Greg McLean said, "It's not a quick fix. It's basically go to work, go to bed, go to work, go to bed."
The city's population has surged from 33,000 in 2019 to 47,191 this year. McLean wants to expand the force to 62 sworn officers to keep pace with growth. However, training new recruits takes up to a year and further stretches the department's resources.
The staffing crisis has forced the department to dissolve specialized units and curtail certain services. "The burnout is real," Dalke admitted. "I'm trying to train a new officer while being a supervisor and still fulfill all these other responsibilities."
Additional challenges include competition from neighboring jurisdictions and Idaho's strict regulations on marijuana use for potential officers. Idaho law stipulates that recruits must not have used marijuana within the past year.
The Post Falls Police budget is currently $7,428,163.10. McLean isn’t sure what his ideal budget would be as the population continues to increase, but it will need to account for variables like increases in salaries and staff, as well as outfitting new officers with vehicles and gear.
While recent hiring has brought some relief to on-duty officers, Dalke cautioned that the problem is not entirely fixed.
"There's a light at the end of the tunnel. It's just about a year away," he said.
Post Falls population growth:
2019: 33,000
2020: 38,500
2021: 39,452
2022: 45,850
2023: 47,000
2024: 47,191 currently
Post Falls police service calls:
2019: 34,431
2020: 33,913
2021: 36,742
2022: 34,992
2023: 35,348
2024: 18,031 currently
Numbers courtesy of Post Falls Police Department.
Post Falls Police Sgt. Ryan Dalke tests the lights on his police vehicle. Staffing the department proportionate to the growing population of Post Falls has been an issue over the last few years, with the lowest staffing count occurring six months ago.
Sgt. Ryan Dalke checks the gear in his police vehicle Thursday at Post Falls Police Department.