Towns and cities across New York state and beyond are dealing with a problem some in law enforcement are calling “unprecedented.” The shortage of police officers is having an impact on many agencies, including one in upstate New York, where they’ve made changes in order to keep doing the job.

Richard Martin is Newark’s police chief. Leading an agency in this village of 9,000 involves balance.

“Ideally when the two align, right, you can take care of the officers, and you can take care of the community simultaneously,” said Martin. “That's when everything aligns the best.”

Law enforcement is a career with challenges — in recent years, with protests over in-custody deaths across the country, even moreso. For those on the job, the hours can be long and unusual.

“The thing with policing is, it's not just the officer who's working hard, it's the families who are missing time with their loved ones,” he said.

The Newark Police Department is facing another challenge — a staff shortage, caused by a combination of retirements and injuries to officers. It’s one that’s forced Martin and Newark Mayor Jonathan Taylor to think out of the box.

“This is not this is not unique to Newark,” said Taylor. “It's something that's happening throughout the area.”

“This is definitely unprecedented,” added Martin. “That's the biggest factor when you consider the size of our agency, anybody being out hurts."

Newark is budgeted for 15 law enforcement positions. But down four presently, Martin and Taylor had to temporarily shuffle shifts, call on officers to work overtime and hire some part-timers. The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and New York State Police are providing coverage as well. A shortage of new candidates for full-time jobs doesn’t help.

“It's a combination of a lot of things,” said Martin. “The economy has been fairly good. That always impacts professions like policing. Certainly, there's been a lot of negativity around law enforcement.”

As soon as the Newark situation went public, Taylor says other mayors told him they’re dealing with the same. He’s not surprised.

“Not really, because it's really kind of a nationwide problem,” said Taylor. “Just a lack of individuals interested in going in law enforcement; we're seeing it all over the country.”

Martin believes the cop shortage is a temporary problem.

“The best officers are the ones that feel that calling to come into the profession,” he said. “Not so much a job as a true vocation.”

Difficult problems sometimes require difficult decisions.

“People realize that we aren't the enemy,” said Martin. We're here to be part of the solution and to help people. And the more that pendulum swings back, I think the more fulfilling it'll be for the officers that are out there working the streets every day."