WS - E - Analysis of Police Department Staffing

Police Allocation and Deployment I. Introduction It is the middle of the afternoon on an exceptionally busy day, and your attention is broken by the sound of a police siren from a patrol car passing by. You stop for a moment and wonder “Gee, I hope everything is alright,” and then your thoughts drift to more pragmatic issues, like “I wonder what kind of call that was; what was the need for a ‘Code-3’ response?” A minute or two passes and you decide to call the Chief. Ordinarily, you resist making this type of call, but something tells you that you need to get to the bottom of this incident. He picks up on the first ring and you ask him about the “lights-and-sirens” response, and he is not aware of any emergencies in Town, but will check and get back to you. The Chief calls a few minutes later and informs you that there was a traffic accident reported up on Main Street. It turns out no one was injured, and there was just minor damage to both vehicles. For months (if not years), the Chief has been a strong advocate for increasing the size of the department. He has made a fairly convincing argument that the department is short-staffed and that continued operation at the current personnel headcount is jeopardizing public safety. The population of the Town is growing and it seems there are more and more sirens heard every day. But you’re just not sure. You live and work in Town, and it just doesn’t seem unsafe. You’re not getting an inordinate number of complaints from the community or the Council about public safety, and the call for more resources in the police department does not seem to be at a critical stage…. yet, you hope. The Chief, after all, is the expert and you need to rely on his judgment. With these thoughts rattling around your head, and the wail of police sirens still fresh in your ears, you start to ask more pointed questions. “Was there really a need to respond ‘Code-3’ to a reported traffic accident?” “Do we really even need to dispatch an officer to a traffic accident?” “What other types of calls are we dispatching officers to that might not be a police emergency?” “How many officers do we have working right now?” “Are there too many officers assigned to handle too many assignments that are not police emergencies?” The Chief’s response is quick and convincing. He reassuringly advises that “Our community expects a rapid response to calls for service. We respond to all forms of emergencies and consider traffic accidents one type of emergency.” The Chief continues, “And while I don’t know specifically how many officers are working this very moment, I can assure you that we need more of them to provide the level of service our community expects.” You end the conversation with the Chief in order to get back to your busy day, and thank him for his prompt response and patience in handling your bothersome call. You’re not convinced, 4