Due to a shortage of available law enforcement workers, the Vicksburg Police Department will have officers working nine-hour shifts instead of the current 12-hour shifts.

The Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen unanimously passed a resolution on Wednesday making a temporary change to the schedules. Police Chief Penny Jones spoke to the board at Wednesday’s meeting about why she believes the change is needed.

“It’s no secret that there has been a decrease in the number of people who are entering into the law enforcement field. We are currently on a 12-hour shift, and I don’t have an adequate amount of officers for a twelve-hour shift right now,” Jones said. “So I wanted to switch over to a nine-hour shift so that I can put enough officers out on the street. We need more boots on the ground.”

Mayor George Flaggs Jr. mentioned that the shift schedule maintains an overlap to ensure there are officers available to respond to calls during shift changes.

The new schedule for Patrol Officers is defined in the resolution as the following:

Day Shift: 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Swing Shift: 3 p.m. to 12 a.m.

Grave Shift: 11 p.m. to 8 a.m.

Officers will be allowed to work an additional four hours of overtime either before the start or after the end of their shift as needed. An investigator, a crime scene investigator, and a narcotics officer will be assigned to work during the 3 p.m. to 12 a.m. shift.

A pay adjustment was also included in the resolution. Officers working the Swing Shift will receive an additional 20 cents per hour, and those working the Grave Shift will receive an additional 30 cents per hour.

The adopted resolution will take effect on Dec. 1.