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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia Police Department continues to feel the strain of staffing shortages that have resulted in gaps in the department in crisis intervention-trained officers. On Thursday, CPD command staff began a two-day “in-town retreat” to discuss to address staffing needs. Schlude told a crowd at Tuesday’s "Let’s Talk Local" event that the retreat will focus on identifying the department’s ideal staffing levels and discussing how it would operate if those goals were met. “The next conversation is how many more police officers do we need to add to really do the type of policing I think the community is expecting from us,” Schlude said. CPD is currently allotted 185 positions. According to a spokesman from the department, CPD currently has 154 officers, with 16 more currently in the training academy. However, concerns remain about retention, which has been one of the largest contributors to the staffing shortage. Schlude says part of this is due to officers feeling overworked. “We have an auto theft problem in the city. We probably could use an auto theft unit. We have retail theft issues. We can probably use people that specifically work on retail theft. That's really hard to staff when here in the not-so-distant past, we had one detective working every property crime in the city of Columbia. “Who wants that job? Not me.” Schlude said during Tuesday’s Let’s Talk Local discussion. “Honestly, that's one of my biggest fears about retention, is that we won't be able to retain people because we're asking them to do too much.” These issues have also contributed to some officers not being trained in crisis intervention. Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) prepares patrol officers to respond safely and effectively to people experiencing mental health crises. The program emphasizes de-escalation and connecting individuals to appropriate care instead of the criminal justice system. Because police are often first on the scene, CIT aims to reduce injuries, save lives, and build trust between law enforcement and the community. Research shows the training improves safety and ensures people in crisis receive treatment rather than face arrest or neglect. Columbia’s growing homelessness crisis has led to an increase in mental health-related calls, making CIT training a valuable tool for officers. Last month, Schlude said the department’s goal is for all officers to receive CIT training, but gaps remain after the Law Enforcement Training Institute at the University of Missouri — where CPD previously trained its officers — stopped offering the program. “We weren't aware that they stopped offering that as part of the normal training for new police officers. So that created this gap that we have to go back and fill,” Schlude told ABC 17 News. “That's a little difficult because it is a lengthy program. It's a 40-hour program. So when you're understaffed and you're trying to find a way to train somebody, a week's worth of training, that's hard work, chipping away at a little by little.” Missouri’s Crisis Intervention team has a Mid-Missouri CIT council made up of six first responder agencies. CPD is not one of them. The list includes: Ashland Police Department Boone County Sheriff's Department Centralia Police Department Columbia Police Department Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital Police Department University of Missouri Police Department The Boone County Sheriff’s Office now runs LETI, after taking over in 2024 at the University of Missouri’s request. Captain Brian Leer of the Boone County Sheriff’s Office says that LETI stopped offering CIT training before it took over. According to Leer, LETI will be moved to the Sheriff’s Office’s new Regional Training Center when it opens in 2026. Each of their recruits is required to go through LETI’s basic law enforcement training academy. While LETI no longer offers CIT training, Leer says the agency has long recognized the importance of training deputies to effectively respond to people experiencing mental health crises. The office has been an active member of the Mid-Missouri CIT Council for years, hosting numerous training sessions over the past 15 years. Leer said one of the department’s deputies currently serves as the council’s training committee chair. In August 2024, the sheriff’s office hosted a 40-hour CIT course attended by representatives from the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, Columbia Police Department, Sweet Springs Police Department, Arthur Center Peer Support, and Osage County EMS. Although the program was not part of academy training, Leer said it reflects the department’s ongoing commitment to CIT instruction. “I know this wasn’t academy training, but it is how we make sure to get the training to our personnel,” Leer said in an email. “We plan on continuing to offer CIT training at our new training center as well.” Schlude added that while CPD would still like to see all of its officers CIT trained, the department continues to provide training related to CIT principles, including de-escalation and trauma-informed interventions. “So much of what we do and train on now involves crisis intervention that it's more like just a way of doing a police officer's job at this point,” Schlude said.
