Title
Police Department Staffing Discussion
Description
This report provides the Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee with information on the Phoenix Police Department's (PPD) staffing levels and describes the process that the department will conduct to address ongoing staffing and workload challenges.
THIS ITEM IS FOR INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION.
Report
Summary
At the September 8, 2021, Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee meeting, PPD discussed the hiring, retention and recruiting challenges the department is currently facing. This report provides the subcommittee with additional information highlighting the negative impact that current and projected staffing levels are having on service delivery. Furthermore, this report begins to discuss the approach that PPD will take to ensure appropriate service delivery is maintained during this difficult hiring and retention period.
Staffing Levels, Caseloads and Other Considerations
Staffing Levels
Despite aggressive hiring campaigns over the last two fiscal years, like most other law enforcement agencies across the country the department has experienced a continued decline in the number of filled sworn positions. For reference, in March 2020 the department had 2,926 filled sworn positions and 124 recruits enrolled in the academy for a total of 3,050 filled sworn positions. Approximately one year later in July 2021 the department had 2,837 filled sworn positions and 41 recruits enrolled in the academy for a total of 2,878 filled sworn positions. This reflects a decrease of 172 filled sworn positions between March 2020 and July 2021. The department currently has 2,781 filled sworn positions and 39 recruits enrolled at the training academy, for a total of 2,820 filled sworn positions.
The minimum staffing level for optimal patrol operations is 1,096 filled sworn positions. The current staffing level in patrol is 1,054 filled sworn positions, which is 42 officers below the minimum staffing level. On average the department is currently losing approximately 30 officers per month and expects to lose over 100 additional officers by mid-December 2021.
The department is focused on ensuring that resources are appropriately distributed. An important factor in deciding patrol staffing levels is looking at where elevated levels of crime are occurring and analyzing response times. Attachment A shows a heat map of the City indicating where the majority of crime is happening and Attachment B provides information on calls for service and response times from 2016 through 2021. Between 2016 and 2020, the number of calls for service increased by 4.9%. For the same period, response times have increased by 1.1%, or seven seconds.
Caseloads
While it is important to constantly evaluate the needs of patrol, department leadership must also remain aware of the staffing and workload demands of other high priority investigative units throughout the department. Due to current staffing challenges, many investigative units within the department are carrying higher caseloads than recommended based on best practice. In fact, a recent study conducted by the Matrix Consulting Group, determined that the caseloads for Assault, Burglary, Domestic Violence, and Adult Sex Crimes are significantly higher than the recommended caseloads from a best practice perspective. Highlighted below are the findings of the Matrix report as it relates to the investigative units referenced above:
- Assaults: average 56 cases per month (Matrix recommendation is 8 cases per month)
- Burglary: average 169 cases per month (Matrix recommendation is 15 cases per month)
- Domestic Violence: average 66 cases per month (Matrix recommendation is 15 per month)
- Adult Sex Crimes: average 21 cases per month (Matrix recommendation is 8 per month)
As a result of the analysis performed by the Matrix Consulting Group, the department is looking to add additional sworn officers to these areas.
Deployment of Resources
The department utilizes a workload evaluation model when looking at how best to disperse resources across the City. This evaluation method is weighted based on statistically significant data, instead of perceived need or emotions, which results in an unbiased result. The model is weighted to include:
- Citizen generated calls for police service (43 percent)
- Specific violent crime call types (21 percent)
- Arrests (15 percent)
- Property crimes (9 percent)
- Traffic collisions (9 percent)
- Population (2 percent)
- Geographic size (1 percent)
Other Considerations
PPD continually looks at ways to evolve and continue to meet the needs of the community, which is especially important in times of decreased staffing. As with many other agencies across the country, the department is working to identify potential calls for service that may not warrant a sworn officer response, but possibly a response by another agency or a non-sworn department representative.
Another concept the department is actively working towards is identifying positions and tasks that could be handled by a civilian employee, this frees up officer positions that could be reallocated and better utilized elsewhere. Part of this discussion is also looking at the process to hire back individuals who have retired from the department, but could return to the workforce as a civilian, bringing with them their years of experience as a sworn officer.
To immediately address the current staffing issues, the department is working to identify roughly 200 positions to reallocate to patrol and other investigations divisions. The department has also implemented other creative ideas such as the Specialty-Back-to-Patrol program in an effort to enhance staffing levels in patrol.
In an effort to immediately increase patrol staffing, PPD created a Specialty-Back-to-Patrol program which took effect July 5, 2021. This program allowed the rotation of specialty officers to assist with patrol coverage on a four-week rotational schedule in Desert Horizon, Mountain View, Maryvale/Estrella Mountain, and Cactus Park precincts. Highlights of the program include:
- Officers and detectives that have been in a specialty position longer than one year need to attend a two-day “back to patrol” training which includes the four-hour block on the new Taser 7.
- Officers and detectives with less than one year in a specialty position only need to attend the four-hour block on the new Taser 7.
- Currently, the officers on rotation in this program are working Monday-Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
There have been several instances where an officer assisting with patrol coverage has been invaluable and even life-saving:
- Two officers that usually work as Recruit Training Officers at the Academy were working in the Specialty-Back-to Patrol function in the Mountain View Precinct when they responded to a call of a child locked in a car. When they arrived on scene, they forced entry into the vehicle and saved the child from the hot car.
- An officer normally assigned in the Homeland Defense Bureau and has not been in the patrol function for many years, was working in the Specialty-Back-to-Patrol function in the Cactus Park Precinct. He responded to a call for service of an ill person and when he arrived on scene he evaluated the male and realized he was unresponsive and not breathing. The officer immediately began CPR and also administered Narcan. The male responded to the lifesaving efforts and made a full recovery.
- One homicide supervisor and five homicide detectives, as well as two other Violent Crimes Bureau detectives were working in the Specialty-Back-to-Patrol function in the Desert Horizon Precinct when they responded to a call of a shooting/homicide near 19th Avenue and Dunlap. The quick teamwork between the seasoned detectives, along with their intimate knowledge of violent crimes investigations assisted in the quick apprehension of the shooter within an hour or so of the incident.
Conclusion
The department will continue to analyze staffing levels, caseloads, call volume and response times in an effort to ensure that service levels continue to meet the needs of the community. Over the coming months, the department will return to the subcommittee with additional updates as requested.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Assistant City Manager Jeffrey Barton and the Police Department.