Residency Rule Abolished For Police

Sturgeon Bay’s police officers will no longer have to live within 15 miles of any city limit following action Tuesday by the Common Council.

The Sturgeon Bay Police Department’s management team recommended abolishing the residency requirement to help recruit officers from elsewhere. The management team noted law enforcement agencies in Brown County, where Sturgeon Bay’s department could attract qualified candidates, either allow their officers to live farther away or have no residency requirements.

The department is currently short four officers. Assistant Chief Dan Brinkman said past applicants who had been quality candidates for vacant positions in Sturgeon Bay were not interested due to the residency requirement. 

To help address the police department being short-staffed, the council also agreed to create a part-time officer position.

Brinkman said the part-time position, for which an officer leaving full-time duty expressed an interest, will help cut down on full-time officers working overtime and reduce burnout among officers.