Lovell Police build a force for good

Are you cut out to be one of Lovell’s finest? Lovell Chief of Police Roger Haney and Town Administrator Jed Nebel know what makes an effective police officer in a small town like Lovell.

“There’s really not an ideal,” explained Haney. “There’s not a particular mold. There are all different types of personalities and room in the police department for those differences. The most important thing is to be that person who shows up when people need you.”

“Usually, people know if they’re cut from that cloth to be an officer,” added Nebel. “They do it because they want to do it. There are plenty of jobs out there where you put in the same number of hours and maybe get rich, but the call to service must be more important to you to do this kind of job.”

Both Haney and Nebel agreed that people who are community oriented are best suited to be a police officer in a small town. People who care about people make good candidates for the job.

“It’s a small town, so there’s more community style policing here,” said Haney. “You get to know everybody. You need to be able to enforce the law and ordinances, but you need to do it with compassion, because you live with these people. A person who comes in wanting to make a difference and wanting to help people is probably one of the most important things we look for in an officer.”

Haney pointed out that someone looking for a power grab or to lord authority over others is probably not suited to be an effective officer in a small community.

Haney emphasized the importance of compassion for the people officers interact with on a daily basis.

“We realize that everybody makes mistakes,” explained Haney. “If there is an incident where we arrest someone for something, that doesn’t mean they are a bad person. People can get past their mistakes and move forward with their lives. We don’t judge someone today for a mistake they made in their past. We see positive changes in people all the time. This is one of the rewards of the job.”

“Officers don’t focus on people’s past; they focus on the present,” added Nebel.

“Whenever we have contact with someone, it is a completely new situation,” explained Haney. “In one situation they can be a suspect, and in another situation they could be a victim. Every contact we have with someone is a clean slate. A person’s past doesn’t really affect the interaction.”

Officers in a small community face the same kinds of challenges as in larger communities. Though not as often as in a densely populated area, the department deals with violent crimes such as murder, assault, rape, domestic violence and narcotics enforcement. Haney said officers are trained to handle every situation with professionalism. New officers are sent to the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy for training, and seasoned officers receive ongoing training.

Depending on experience, base salaries for officers in small Wyoming communities like Lovell range from $41,000 to $52,000 per year. According to Nebel, the officer salaries in Lovell are in keeping with similar communities in the state. The Town of Lovell also offers an excellent benefit package that includes health insurance with dental and vision coverage and a state retirement pension that is fully paid for by the town. Duty gear is also supplied by the employer, along with yearly uniform stipends. Nebel said the town has developed an incentive plan for officers who show an exemplary commitment to serve the community.

“We’ve developed a performance incentive plan so that there will be regular evaluations that can lead to performance incentives,” Nebel said. “We look at incentives in a broad sense. It could be pay; it could be time off. It’s individually based and not a competition.

“In terms of recruitment and retention, we get compared a lot to private industry, like the plants in the area,” Nebel added. “People compare our salaries to what you can make working at a plant. My answer to that is we don’t make widgets. We make a difference. There’s some intrinsic value to that aspect of a career like this. You get to make a difference in individual people’s lives.”

“I think being able to see the impact you make on the community is one of the best things about the job,” added Haney. “You can visibly see the difference you’re making through your work.”