The Statesboro Police Department no longer will provide funeral procession escorts unless conducted by off-duty officers who will charge for their service.
The change is due to an increased need for “essential police services,” said Deputy Chief Rob Bryan, and follows a study that found officers were tied up a great deal with funerals when they were needed elsewhere.
The new policy went into effect Jan. 1 after city and police officials met with local funeral homes in December to explain the decision. Tracy Joiner, co-owner of Joiner-Anderson Funeral Home, said the information is being provided to families who are planning funerals.
“It is disappointing to everyone that the change is taking place,” he said.
Joiner said his business regularly receives compliments from people, even those from out of town, about how respectful and professional local law enforcement and the community as a whole have always been regarding funeral escorts.
“We would love to see (the escorts) come back, but it is up to City Hall,” he said.
A letter from the Statesboro Police Department to funeral home directors outlined the new policy.
“It is unfortunate that we will no longer be able to provide the service in the same manner that we have for many years, but our priority must be performing essential law enforcement tasks,” Capt. Kaleb Moore wrote in the letter.
Off-duty officers, while in full uniform and driving a Statesboro police patrol car, will be permitted to work as funeral escorts “in accordance with our extra duty policy,” he wrote. Funeral homes must request an escort at least 24 hours in advance, and if there is an off-duty officer who accepts the task, the funeral home must pay the established rate of $30 an hour, with a three-hour minimum, regardless of actual time worked.
The off-duty officers will clock in at the Police Department, and the funeral home will be billed for the time. With the additional costs, funeral homes must charge more for their services, said Greg Frost, managing funeral director at Hodges-Moore Funeral Home.
“We must bill families for it,” he said.
Frost declined to comment further on the change in policy.
Elrico Tremble with Craig Tremble Funeral Home said that while his business has not encountered a need for escorts within the city limits since the policy change, when the situation arises, “it will be up to the families” to decide whether to hire them. Families will be informed that the cost of such escorts would be billed to them, but other options are available, Tremble said.
“My brother (Craig Tremble) is a deputy coroner, and he has lights and sirens on his truck, so he could handle” escorting a funeral procession and controlling traffic, he said.
Joiner said the change has not yet affected his business because so far this year, all funerals have been outside the city limits and were escorted by Bulloch County sheriff’s deputies.
Sheriff Noel Brown said the Sheriff’s Office’s policy of providing escort services free of charge will not change. The only reason deputies would not be available for service during funerals would be if there was an emergency situation demanding their attention, he said.
This week, Joiner-Anderson will be conducting funerals inside the city limits.
“We will see how that goes,” Joiner said.
Necessary cutback
Bryan said that he regrets having to make the change, but with a shortage of police officers and an increased demand for crime-related police services, limiting funeral escort work to off-duty officers — and billing for it — is a must.
A recent study found that officers working as funeral escorts, including the time spent directing traffic at intersections, “is impacting availability and is a non-essential law enforcement function,” Bryan said. Ending funeral escorts by on-duty officers “has been done across the country” and “frees up a lot of time for officers” who could be answering accident or crime calls or patrolling in efforts to prevent crime, he said.
Bryan said the study’s findings were “very eye-opening.”
“In a 14-month period, we had 249 escorts, which tied up 352 man hours, which equals 43 minutes per officer per each escort,” he said, adding that one funeral can require as many as five escorts, multiple stops and numerous temporary intersection closures.
“That is a huge drain on our police officers,” he said.
The change in policy regarding funeral escorts is the first step toward streamlining the efficiency of officers, Bryan said.
“We are looking at other things impacting officer time,” he said.
The change was not voted on by the Statesboro City Council, but council members “were advised” of the change by Bryan and Statesboro City Manager Randy Wetmore.
“This will save a number of hours being taken from our core police force,” Wetmore said. “We can use those hours better in responding to calls and make better use of our time. Rob and I discussed it and think it is in our best interest to get back to core services.”
Bryan said that he understands the value people place on the escorts.
“In a perfect world, with unlimited resources, it would be a great thing to do” to continue offering the service free of charge, but department and community needs regarding the availability of officers for more pressing calls prevails, he said.
Herald reporter Holli Deal Saxon may be reached at (912) 489-9414.