Retired MNPD officers filling in during staffing shortage

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - The Metro Nashville Police Department has developed a plan to keep people from waiting for too long an officer to arrive.

An officer shortage is impacting response times for low-priority calls, so while MNPD works to hire more officers, retired police officers, or current officers who are injured or have health issues, have been helping out. They file police reports over the phone for minor crimes that have already happened.

“It’s a good way for the citizens to get in contact with an officer that don’t need immediate response out to their location so we can expedite our response to calls for service so the citizens aren’t having to wait, but also we can get these instances documented,” Metro Nashville Police Sgt. Paul Stein said.

The Automated Police Response (APR) unit was formed in February 2022. Within the first few months, officers had already filed more than 6,000 police reports and have answered more than 9,000 non-urgent calls.

This extra staffing is freeing up other police officers so they can focus on emergency situations.

“There was a great need due to manpower for the department to be able to better assist and expedite the services we provide to the citizens,” explained Sgt. Stein.

The APR unit has about 10 officers working at a time out of MNPD’s North Precinct. They are available to file police reports between 7 a.m. - 9 p.m., Monday through Friday.

You can contact the APR unit by calling 615-862-8600 or by filling out a request online.

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