Title
Day Shift Watch Commanders Pilot Program
Description
This item provides the Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee information on the Day Shift Watch Commanders pilot program and its impact on staffing and Patrol deployment models.
THIS ITEM IS FOR INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION.
Report
Summary
The Phoenix Police Department has experienced declining number of officers available as first responders, and the June 2022 re-bid was not able to adequately staff Patrol at a sufficient level to handle call volumes. The Day Shift Watch Commanders pilot program was implemented as a staffing efficiency measure to ensure the Patrol Division is equitably responding to calls for police services.
Watch Commanders are tasked with strategically moving resources throughout the City. A Watch Commander's strategic movement of resources is intended to allow the department to efficiently respond to calls for service and ensure that all residents receive adequate levels of service from the Police Department. There are times that areas of the City experience increased response times, while other areas have officers available to respond. In this situation, some areas have calls holding and going unanswered for longer periods of time, while officers are available to respond in neighboring precincts. The Watch Commanders have been directed to temporarily shift officers from less busy areas of the City to areas that have calls holding. Once the backlog has been addressed, officers are sent back to their home precinct. As a result of the decades long tradition of policing in Phoenix focused on beat accountability, it is challenging for Lieutenants (Shift Commanders) to extend officers to a different precinct to assist when there is not a major scene occurring. The Watch Commander utilizes a more global view of the entire City and makes impartial decisions on how to best deploy resources.
Additionally, due to increasing administrative responsibilities and the greater community engagement role of the Precinct Commanders, the Watch Commander allows them to focus on the day-to-day operation of their precinct. The Watch Commanders also work with Precinct Commanders to ensure proper supervision of major scenes and incidents. This allows Precinct Commanders to be more productive, work more efficiently, and more readily meet the needs of the community.
Results
Since the inception of the pilot program, officers have been efficiently allocated across precincts on multiple occasions with success. These allocations have typically involved moving two or three units for a limited period between 30 minutes and two hours. The amount of time depends on several factors, such as call volumes or the occurrence of a major incident. The units are reallocated from a location with sufficient staffing to continue meeting that area's lower call volumes in a timely manner. A Watch Commander's goal is to only move units one precinct over to ensure units can return quickly, if needed. For example, if the Maryvale/Estrella Mountain Precinct has a high call volume and the Mountain View Precinct does not then the Watch Commander may strategically move some units to provide greater support. In this situation, the Watch Commander may move units from Black Mountain to the adjacent Cactus Park Precinct and then move officers from Cactus Park to Maryvale/Estrella, thus, allocating units to keep them close to their home precincts. Two recent examples include:
- On Sept. 27, 2022, at 12:30 p.m., the Desert Horizon Precinct had approximately 30 calls holding, several suspects in custody, and a major crime scene. The Watch Commander sent two units from Black Mountain to assist until 2:30 p.m., when shift two was able assist.
- On Oct. 10, 2022, Maryvale/Estrella had 42 calls holding while working a homicide and another major scene. At the same time, the Mountain View Precinct only had 4 calls holding\ so, the Watch Commander sent units to Maryvale/Estrella for a couple of hours until second shift units began.
Community Benefit
The Watch Commander concept was initially referred to as a Duty Commander and historically used during overnight shifts. This pilot program is an expansion of the previously used concept that focuses on delivering more efficient and equitable responses to calls for police services. The benefit to the public is improved response times to calls for services. With a limited number of first responders, this pilot program is designed to assist with balancing police services throughout the City, while the department determines long-term and more sustainable solutions.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Assistant City Manager Lori Bays and the Police Department.