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Columbia’s first female police chief has focused on recruitment and retention as chief. CPD was more than 40 officers short when Jill Schlude was sworn-in as police chief in December 2023. They currently have about 14 vacancies. Chief Schlude joined host Fred Parry in-studio for the hour Saturday morning on 939 the Eagle’s “CEO Roundtable”. One of main issues Fred and the chief discussed was violent crime and crime statistics in Columbia. Chief Schlude tells listeners that violent crime has been trending downward for several years. “It went down eight percent from 23 to 24. It went down 15 percent from 22 to 23. It went down six percent from 21 to 22 and then this past year from 24 to 25 it went down one percent," Chief Schlude tells listeners. But with several high-profile incidents in January alone, Chief Schlude admits some Columbia residents don’t feel safe. Staffing levels are another issue that was discussed during the interview. Chief Schlude notes CPD has 254 full-time positions, 185 of which are swor