A decrease in the number of State Patrol road troopers is affecting speedy roadside assistance to Iowa drivers.
Alex Dinkla, a public information officer for the State Patrol, said the agency has seen a 10 percent decrease in road troopers since 2011. The patrol is an assisting agency for Iowa police departments, he said, meaning this decrease affects the number of troopers available to help departments across the state.
A few different factors contribute to this decrease, he said. Many people have retired from the agency, Dinkla said, and fulfilling the positions has been a challenge.
Also, he said, budgets cuts have been a factor.
“For a couple years, we’ve gone without a graduating academy class, which is reducing the number of troopers we’ve been able to hire,” he said.
Because of the lower number of available troopers, Dinkla said, several recent major accident calls across the state have had to go without immediate road-trooper assistance for an extended period of time.
The State Patrol only has a certain number of accident-investigation troopers across the state, Dinkla said, so having fewer troopers can limit the patrol’s reach when an accident is called in, sometimes for several hours.
The number of drunk-driving arrest have also decreased in Iowa, he said. Road troopers receive plenty of calls to assist in drunk-driving cases, he said, but they are tied up with other tasks at times, so they are unavailable.
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Dinkla noted these issues do not occur in one concentrated area; troopers are spread across the state evenly.
Scott Gaarde, a planning and research sergeant for the Iowa City police, said Iowa City has not felt any loss in road-trooper assistance.
“As a larger agency, we fortunately have not felt or had to absorb the loss of the troopers,” he said. “When we have needed assistance, the Iowa State Patrol has been, and continues to be, a strong working partner for the Iowa City Police Department.”
Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner said the Linn County Sheriff’s Office similarly has felt no loss in patrol assistance because of the size of the department.
“Our staffing numbers are typically sufficient for our call volumes and we have our own accident reconstructionists,” he said. “Having said that, we work very cooperatively with our area troopers and welcome their assistance when they are able to provide it.”
Looking toward the future, Dinkla said the State Patrol is in constant communication with state legislators to work on best serving Iowa residents with the resources available. The agency is also looking at upcoming retirements to formulate a replacement plan.
Until then, Dinkla said, the patrol is continually assessing how many staff members are available to help with any special events or requested calls for assistance to best help Iowans and law enforcement.