Just like the last few months, our state of safety news is not necessarily what I would call uplifting.
So, as it pertains to our manpower allocation, numbers continue to dwindle rapidly.
Here are the most current statistics available for Phoenix Police Department.
- As of March 2022, they have 2702 total sworn personnel.
- In 2021, they had approximately 274 separations (left the department).
- In 2021, they gained approximately 50 new officers (new-hire or lateral)
- Leaving a total net loss of approximately 220 officer
- As of March 2022, they have already lost 50 officers
- Average loss/separation per day = .66 (Basically 1 officer every other day).
- This is equal to 1 full squad every week and a half.
- Average response time for all Priority 1 (emergency) calls = 7:15 minutes
Priority 1 calls into 911 dispatch, is where the information includes 'crimes in progress'. Once the crime is determined to be 'in progress', it requires at least 2 officers to respond, and depending on what type of call, it may require even more officers, for safety. These calls aren't always to the extreme that necessarily warrants it to be a call in progress but make no mistake, it still requires manpower to handle the call.
The Phoenix City Management is concerned about this time limit in particular, but we are not sure why. I am not sure why this particular time is of any concern (they have had poor response time for months), but the idea of increasing patrol numbers with other officers from investigative bureaus, specialty details, and training departments is the plan.
The current Chief and Assistant Chiefs have become worthless. They simply don't want to rock the boat and jeopardize themselves in any way. The overall consensus is our liberal city council and liberal Mayor are the people making the decisions. And while they will not come out publicly and say they want to DEFUND our police, they are easily committed to, what is called 'backdoor defunding'. While they won't push the envelope, they will simply continue to limit resources, withhold pay incentives, and fail to fund the idea of recruiting. They simply will sit back and watch the city burn.
We not only need conservative city council candidates, but these candidates need to step up and get loud.
Bottom Line; until the citizens realize they have the power to make a change, things will never change....and they are getting worse by the day.
As we near June, the department prepares for a re-bid. As of now, it appears there are a total of 108 officers being reassigned to patrol. Of the 108, at least 18 are in the process of leaving, either separating by retirement or medical retirement.
As a result of the re-bid, and reallocation of manpower, the Property Crime Bureau will be hit the hardest. In doing so, the city will ultimately create a huge customer service issue due to even fewer detectives handling all property crimes citywide. Property crime is the most prevalent crime Phx PD deals with in Phoenix. Many of the cases will remain unsolved, or even expire given the statute of limitations.
With an increase in property crime and a decrease in detectives, we will continue to increase and encourage crime.
