Colquitt County Sheriff Rod Howell.

MOULTRIE, Ga. — When Rod was in second grade, he rode the school bus with his friend Sean, who was one year older.

Today, Rod and Sean — Colquitt County Sheriff Rod Howell and Moultrie Police Department Interim Chief Sean Ladson — keep in touch by having lunch together one day a week, but their friendship bodes well for the continued cooperation of the agencies.

The Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office is helping the short-staffed police department as it tries to hire more officers.

Meanwhile, the police department is stretching its manpower by having some officers on patrol instead of behind desks, Moultrie City Manager Pete Dillard said. It also is aggressively seeking applicants for law enforcement training and improving pay.

The Georgia State Patrol is working traffic cases in the city, with any fines going to the city.

In the meantime, the sheriff’s office is continuing to assist the department, Dillard said.

In August Ladson, who had been a lieutenant in charge of the county Drug Enforcement Team, was tapped as the new chief of the MPD, with then-chief Frank Lang assigned as chief emeritus with a role of developing a community policing effort.

So far the changes are paying dividends, Dillard said, with Lang developing an open policing concept that has gained notice and results.

“Frank’s done a great job through his contacts,” Dillard said. “He’s also spread the word all over the state. He’s good for the image of Moultrie all through the state.”

That exposure of police department activities also should be a help in recruiting, he said. The salary-boosting measures should be fully felt in the next six to 12 months.

In addition to having more of the existing officers on patrol, the city is focusing on hot spots where there are more reports of lawbreaking.

Even there, however, the idea is for officers to get to know the people they serve. Officers are expected to get out of their cars and speak with residents.

“We don’t want the first time our public interacts with the police [to be] an unpleasant one” such as an arrest, Dillard said.

Even senior officers are expected to be out and involved to a greater extent than had been the case in the past.

“People who are not on patrol are helping out,” Dillard said. “That’s what we’re after. Don’t tell me that’s not your job. Your job is whatever is needed, whenever it’s needed.”

An example of this took place during the recent winter weather. During the snow and temperatures in the 20s, two of the officers on patrol were the interim chief and Capt. David Corona.

That is the kind of effort the city is looking for.

Dillard said he has had positive comments from city residents, the district attorney’s office and other law enforcement agencies.

As the police department’s staffing situation improves, it will participate more with the Drug Enforcement Team as it did in the past.

The City of Moultrie can count on assistance from the sheriff’s office while it sorts through its manpower situation, Howell said. That includes mundane activities, like security for Thanksgiving festivities and at the Christmas parade, where Howell and Ladson rode together, to answering calls and drug investigations.

“Moultrie is just as much Colquitt County as anybody,” Howell said. “We’ll be cooperating on the Drug Task Force, (but) we don’t want him to put patrol staff on the drug unit and be short-handed.”

The two also have a lengthy history at the sheriff’s office and worked on the former SWAT team and the drug unit.

“Whatever they wanted, wherever we’re needed, we’ve always helped each other,” Howell said. “I tell everybody we’re all in this together, we just wear different uniforms.

“As far as I know, I don’t believe there’s been another sheriff whose been able to work with a police chief he went to elementary school with.”