GIPD Fully Staffed For First Time Since 2016

Grand Island, Neb. — For the first time in eight years, the Grand Island Police Department has reached full staffing.

GIPD Chief Kevin Denney said the milestone was one of his top priorities after being named chief less than two years ago, and now it has the department positioned for the future.

“The things that we can do now at full staffing are providing full services to our community,” Denney said. “Our patrol units will be fully staffed. We’ll also be able to back-fill other areas of the department that we’ve had to run short in.”

Reaching full staff also will allow the department to focus on its continued growth. During the Tuesday, July 16 special session, the city proposed adding two additional full-time police officers for the 2025 fiscal year, and it’s a step Chief Denney says will help keep Grand Island competitive with other cities of similar size.

“I’m proud of the officers in this department with how they do much more with less, which is admirable,” Denney said. “We need to continue to grow as our city grows, so over the coming years we hope to build out to a slightly larger police department.”

With the department at full staff, Chief Denney says his focus will be on addressing the small population in the city that commits a disproportionate amount of crime. The department also plans to provide added focus to different traffic enforcement initiatives in the city.

For more information, please contact Communications Manager Spencer Schubert at spencers@grand-island.com.

Click for comments from Chief Denney