Low Morale and High Turnover Plague Boise Police Department

The situation within the Boise Police Department continues to cause residents in the Boise area to be concerned about the department's current direction. The BPD has been under siege since the appointment, then forced resignation of chief Ryan Lee.

Another published report details that a few more officers have resigned. The department, at one time, was the most stable in the state and has been subject to multiple officers leaving Boise because of the lack of direction.

Boise Mayor Lauren McLean has yet to announce who will be the next police chief, and Ron Winegar is currently the interim while the mayor hopes to avoid another costly mistake at the city's expense.

The city is paying $500,000 to an east coast-based attorney to investigate whether anyone in the department is a white supremacist. The Idaho Statesman reports that the investigators have done more work but haven't found anything of substance yet.

The mayor hired a firm led by an attorney working to prosecute Lt.Col. Oliver North during the Iran-Contra hearings. She decided that the police department, the Ada County Prosecutors, or any other Idaho law firm needed to be more capable of investigating at a more reduced cost. 

The Idaho Statesman reported that two more investigators have called it quits from the Office of Police Accountability. The director was fired by the mayor and is suing the city. 

Although we live in a great area, the upending of the Boise Police Department has to stop. Officers put their lives on the line every day, and as we've seen, more and more officer-involved shootings are happening daily. 

Those officers deserve to know they work in a safe, consistent, and supportive environment. We all hope some stability will occur before this year's local elections. If not, a new mayor will begin stabilizing the BPD.