Independence has officially added a police social worker position to the Independence Police Department.
The Independence City Council voted to add the position on Monday. It is full-time, and the social worker who eventually occupies it will be paid between $55,000 and $77,000 per year, depending on their background and experience.
Specific candidates were not discussed at the meeting where the vote took place, but “we’ll have somebody in that role by first of the year, maybe early next year,” said Mayor Chris Reinersman.
The possibility of adding a police social worker first came before the City Council in August, when Police Chief Brian Ferayorni and Sergeant George Kreutzjans discussed the phenomenon of police social work generally—several cities in Northern Kentucky, such as Erlanger and Alexandria, already have embedded police social workers—and why the department thought it was a good idea.
Essentially, the chief and Kreutzjans argued that police are often called out to situations where a service-based intervention would be more appropriate than a conventional police intervention. A social worker would be better positioned to handle those kinds of calls than a patrol officer, who may not have the appropriate training.
“The idea is to prevent repeat calls,” Ferayorni told the council in August. “If you can get the people the help they need to get them off drugs, to get mental health treatment, to get out of domestic violence, you will limit the number of calls you go to. In turn, it will help the city and the officers and the citizens themselves.”
Like other police social workers in the region, Independence’s social worker would work in a secondary role on the force, meaning they would not necessarily be out with first responders. Instead, they would help connect relevant cases to necessary services after initial calls.
“This is a very exciting time for Independence,” Reinersman said on Monday.