NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hutchinson Police Chief Brice Burlie is excited about the opportunity to lead, which is not something he would have expected to get the opportunity to do even as little as one year ago.
"The command level is something that I enjoy, because I can help the officers on the street get everything that they need to be successful themselves," Burlie said. "I can be a little more influential in the direction of the agency, providing, mainly due to my experience, that leadership, that hopefully officers on the agency can use in a positive way and be better at their jobs because of it."
Burlie has spent 24 years with the Hutchinson Police Department, and he realizes that getting those who have chosen to start their career with the agency off on the right foot is an important part of leadership.
"They've gotten all the training now, they've learned the laws, procedures, things of that nature," Burlie said. "Now they've got to go out and apply it. We do have an extensive field training program. They'll be spending the next 14 weeks riding around with another officer who is experienced. We call them the field training officers. They'll take them out on the street and then take what they've learned, in kind of the classroom environment and then start applying it to the real world. During that same time, the philosophies of the Hutchinson Police Department will start to be integrated with them and then they can start learning how to be officers on their own. After that 14 weeks, then they move out on their own, but they still have supervision on the street from our sargeants."
The staffing needs of the department still keep coverage of the city a challenge, even when close to full strength.
"We do overlap during the higher call volumes, the late afternoon into the evening," Burlie said. "You could potentially have anywhere from 10-12 officers and two sargeants along with a platoon lieutenant."
Burlie was named interim chief in June 2023, before being hired to the permanent job earlier this month.
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