NEWS

Chief prefers small town policing over big city living

Scott Rogers
lsrogers@thenewsstar.com

A knock on the door in the evening hours from neighbors wanting someone to talk to their child or a call before the sun rises from a resident upset about barking dogs is not uncommon for Sterlington Police Chief Barry Bonner.

In a small town where everyone knows your name, the police chief is easily accessible, and that's perfectly fine with Bonner. Sterlington is his home — where he grew up, fell in love with his wife — and the people of the town are like family.

Most days Bonner can be found on patrol, driving through the neighborhoods, waving to those out in their yard or stopping by to chat.

He and his 15 officers get to take part in the same big city police experiences — chasing bad guys, thwarting crime — but they also are afforded the opportunity to share more in the lives of the people of their community.

One of the biggest advantages a small-town police department has is its ability to equip officers with the newest technology sooner. For example, body cameras that are all the rage among departments nationwide — Monroe Police Department is now looking to equip all its officers with body cameras — have been in use in Sterlington since 2009.

"Those things are expensive and the only reason we've been able to do it before larger departments is because we only have a few officers to suit up with those cameras. If I had a department with 200 officers like Monroe, that's a huge cost, and without a grant or special funding, you really can't do it. But for a small department like us, we just took it out of our technology budget and got the cameras," Bonner said.

Sterlington Police Department also was one of the first departments to implement electronic citations that are computer generated on the scene of a traffic stop.

State police has contacted Bonner to discuss Sterlington's electronic citation system as the state looks to go completely electronic too.

Being a leader in those endeavors makes Bonner proud, but he knows being the little dog means the department probably won't be recognized as an innovator, though he knows Sterlington is the most technologically advanced department in northeastern Louisiana for its size.

Small-town police officers are required to be experts in all fields of law enforcement. Besides patrolling the streets, small-town officers also are the detectives who handle homicides, suicides and child molestation.

"If we do have a murder, we call on the assistance of the Sheriff's Office and state police because they have excellent crime scene units, and the assistance they provide to us is immeasurable. But, everything short of that, we handle. In a small town, as a police officer, you have to be proactive and self-governable because if you are not, it will eat your lunch and the next thing you know you'll be hanging out in stores eating donuts and drinking coffee. You have to push yourself to go out there and do what the job requires," Bonner said.

At a time when police are viewed more as the bad guys, Bonner said that's not happening in small towns.

"They tend not to fear us. They call us, they want us to be there. We present law enforcement as a positive, and I think most small towns do that. We know people by name. We have cold tea on the front porch and hot coffee with them in the mornings. I don't think chiefs in cities get the opportunity to do that," Bonner said.

About the only drawback to being a small-town police officer is the pay, but Bonner knows that comes with the territory.

While officers can make more working for larger departments, Bonner wouldn't trade in small-town policing for big city living.

"This is our family. These people look after each other, they care about each other," Bonner said.

Small-town officers responding to calls most often know the person they are going to help, and even those who the police have been called to handle. Usually, this familiarity ensures a situation won't escalate compared to those same calls that involve an officer arriving as a stranger to all involved.

"It's an easy job and an enjoyable job dealing with family," Bonner said.

Follow Scott Rogers on Twitter @lscottrogers.