By Philip Haldiman, Independent Newsmedia

Public Safety organizations across the state and nation are experiencing staffing difficulties and Peoria is no different.

But with the city continuing to grow in population, some say the department isn’t keeping up with increasing demand, resulting in diminished service.

Nearly 20 percent of Peoria Police Department’s sworn officer staff is vacant, according to city documents.

There are 25 officer vacancies, 16 of those are patrol officers, according to the department’s most recent roster.

Deputy Director Jay Davies said 11 employees have been hired to fill the patrol vacancies. However, they are in various points in the training pipeline and have not yet begun patrol.

“We hope that all of these individuals will support patrol operations within the next six months. We also have officers who have completed their academy education, and currently finishing their field training in the city,” he said. “We do not assign these officers on the roster until full training is complete.  If for any reason an officer does not successfully complete their training, which does happen from time to time, we would process another candidate to fill that vacancy.”

Additionally, in the past 12 months the Peoria Police Department has lost 25 officers, nine by retirement, 15 through resignation and one failure to make probation. In the last three years, about 17 officers and ranked personnel have left the department on average annually.

The police department budget is about $48 million, a 4.3 percent increase from last year, and about 20 percent of the city’s tentative 2018 operating budget.

Mr. Davies said the entire law enforcement profession is facing increasing challenges with recruiting, and Peoria is no different.

Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has about 360 vacancies, Phoenix Police Department has about 385 vacancies and DPS has at least 165 vacancies. A citywide public safety job fair was held April 29 to deal with the critical need. About a dozen public safety agencies throughout the state participated in the event, including Peoria Police Department.

“If we look at police hiring and staffing trends at the local and national level, one quickly discovers that this is what many agencies are dealing with. It would be incorrect to assume that the challenges we face with staffing and hiring are unique to Peoria,” he said. “In many ways we are better positioned to work through this than many other agencies. We have a supportive Council that is providing us resources to address these concerns, and we are working with employees and labor groups to implement a number of new and creative recruitment and retention strategies to enhance our efforts.”

Attrition

Peoria resident Joe Clure said it can take anywhere from three to nine-and-a-half months for someone hired to move into solo patrol service, which can include academy training, post-academy training, or field training.

He added when staffing, attrition must be taken into consideration.

Mr. Clure served more than 30 years with the Phoenix Police Department, and has served as president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, the city’s police union for the rank-and-file.

Staffing levels must be looked at from a 360 degree perspective, he said.

“So, you hired more officers, great. But in the nine-and-a-half months to get them all solo capable, using the three years average attrition rate, you’re going to lose 14 officers,” he said. “To use a football analogy, you started on the five-yard line, and now you’re on the two-yard line. You are not moving the ball forward at the rate of hire. When the City Council approved a budget for 199 officers, as a citizen, I expect 199 officers on the police department at all time. Anything less amounts to a broken promise and a diminished level of service.”

Mr. Davies agreed that attrition levels must be monitored and there are a wide variety of reasons people have left, including moving out of state due to a spouse’s job or a family situation, leaving law enforcement entirely to enter the private sector and leaving for a job in the fire service. One officer was lost due to a non-line-of-duty death.

City Council has authorized the department to overhire, or hire new employees before the one they replace retires, for example, to stay ahead of these anticipated vacancies, he said.

“Increasing competition, generational differences, and shrinking candidate pools, among other reasons, are also contributing to our challenges,” Mr. Davies said. “Ultimately, it just comes down to the ability to recruit and hire officers from a shrinking pool of candidates in a highly competitive market.”

Response times

While crime is lower in Peoria than in most Valley cities, according to Valley Benchmark Cities, response times have gone up for priority one and priority two calls.

Priority one calls are the most critical, including emergencies such as bodily harm, loss of life or crimes in progress. From 2013 to 2016, they increased 5 percent, according to a public records request.

Priority two calls are up nearly 10 percent during that time.

Mr. Clure said the response times are symptomatic of an understaffed police force that is overworked, in an unhealthy working environment.

Something bad is eventually going to happen, he said.

“What happens when an officer or many officers take days off, a vacation, sick time, workers comp, or training? Peoria’s luck is going to run out and someone will pay the price,” he said. “All this stems from staffing. And could be avoided by hiring more officers.”

The department has three patrol shifts covering 18 beats throughout the city.

Mr. Davies said the patrols have adequate rosters to serve all areas of the city, but due to the current vacancies, the department is utilizing more overtime to maintain those service levels.

“However, as we fill these vacancies, and as new officers finish their field training, the city will be utilizing less overtime costs,” he said.

Overworked officers

At the April 18 Council meeting, Chief Roy Minter said he appreciates all the extra work officers are doing to keep Peoria  safe and make sure they are responding to calls for service in an appropriate time.

“I have to acknowledge the great work the men and women of the Peoria Police Department do on a daily basis. They’ve been facing anywhere from 12 to 14 vacancies at a time and they continue to come in here on a daily basis and answer every call for service and keep the crime rate low. I realize there are times when they are tired, but they continue to work overtime for their fellow officers,” he said. “That’s the reason for our commitment to get officers hired as soon as we can. Our officers are going above and beyond what is expected of them. Some days they go from call to call to call.”

Peoria resident Dr. Thomas Shipley, who practices dentistry in the northern part of the city, said at the Council meeting that 30 more officers should be hired for patrol to bring down response times.

“With five kids in Peoria schools and a business in Peoria, (high-response times) concern me. I believe we live in a beautiful city and a healthy city, and that is to the credit of city staff and the Council,” he said. “As an orthodontist I am not only concerned with the aesthetic of one’s mouth, but also with the overall health of the mouth. If a tooth hurts on the left side, I don’t say, ‘chew on  the other side.’ Reallocating the placement of food in the mouth is not solving the problem, just as reallocating the positions of officers throughout the city is not solving the problem. If my children are victims of violent crime, I want a Peoria police officer to respond quickly. As citizens of Peoria, we deserve that.”

Councilwoman  Vicki Hunt, who represents parts of southern Peoria, said her constituents have not complained about long response times. She cited a recent murder robbery inside Park Clothing Center, 8150 W. Peoria Ave., that was solved in a timely manner.

“The response time in getting to this incident was immediate. But more than that, the fact that the culprit was apprehended within 24 hours is really remarkable,” she said. “I get barking dogs and dust and tumbleweeds, and think a lot of it is because our officers are apparent and visible and that is part of the neighborhood policing plan. I feel very safe in my home and anywhere I go in Peoria.”