o Preparing to survive workplace violence.
o Three shootings in two days.
While a rash of high-profile violent crimes has placed a strain on Clark County’s law enforcement community, officials say they’re working to do more with less.
Two back-to-back workplace shootings last week, along with the slaying of a 21-year-old in the VanMall neighborhood, sent police caroming from one crime scene to another. And that was only by Tuesday.
The week’s front-loaded workload, while not necessarily unprecedented in a county that’s had its share of high-profile crimes, is beginning to add up.
What that means for investigators is they’ll likely push their old cases — assaults, thefts, cold cases and other run-of-the-mill crimes — to the back burner in favor of the high-profile ones.
Most of the heavy lifting has been placed on the shoulders of the major crimes unit.
“Anyone assigned to major crimes is prepared to respond to these things on a moment’s notice,” said Sgt. Kevin Allais, who runs the unit for the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. “The real stress comes later, when you have to put the case together.”
On top of the week’s deadly — or nearly-deadly shootings — investigators are also contending with a deadly hit-and-run crash that killed two women. That happened less than a month ago, on Jan. 19.
Investigators call what they’re doing now caseload triage. They’re prioritizing cases based on their seriousness.
In most cases, officers with the county’s major crimes unit juggle up to 20 cases at once. For some, Tuesday’s shooting at the U.S. Veterans Affairs campus in Vancouver, where former employee Deborah Lennon allegedly shot her former boss twice in the chest, will jump to the top of their list of things to do.
For officers with the Vancouver Police Department, the same could be said for Monday’s murder-suicide at Benjamin Moore Paints and the shooting death of Craig Moritz.
Other cases will fall by the wayside.
All told, 2014 is shaping up to be one of the busiest in recent memory for the county’s cops.
It’s rivaling the early 1990s for the most activity, Allais said. During that time, the region was contending with a slew of gang-related violence.
That’s declined in recent years, Allais said. But the recent spate of crimes serves as a reminder that it doesn’t take much for manpower to be stretched thin.
Sgt. Kathy McNicholas, of the Vancouver police Special Operations Unit, said heavy caseloads lead to paperwork piling up.
But, more than that, shootings can affect officers in other ways, McNicholas said.
“Sometimes, it takes its toll, both mentally and physically,” she said.
Some of the strain won’t be known until later, including to what extent the extra work is draining coffers. Law enforcement agencies budget for overtime stemming from events like the ones in the county last week.
While there’s no way for officers to plan for random acts of violence and their aftermath, Clark County sheriff’s Sgt. Shane Gardner said the most important thing is they respond quickly and perform a thorough investigation.
“We will always roll up our sleeves and help each other,” Gardner said. “It’s really just about getting the work done.”
