May 6, 2011
As a response to the public’s request, the City Council approved moving forward with an efficiency study of the Phoenix Police Department. Berkshire Advisors Inc. was selected as the contractor to conduct the study and provided an overview of their report to the City Council at our May 3 meeting.
Berkshire Advisors Inc. Innovation and Efficiency Study of the Phoenix Police Department is a work in progress. This is the first step in the process to determine how well the Phoenix Police Department is doing. The Department is doing very well in my opinion -- demonstrated by the 25-year low crime rates.
The report opens the discussions of how we can continue to improve our service while reviewing how we accomplish the improvements without compromising public or officer safety. There are questions regarding conflicts with the City Charter, which need to be reviewed and addressed. There also are questions regarding two-person patrol cars, community based policing, 8-, 10- or 13-hour shifts and whether we eliminate “excess” police positions.
For the record, I do not support cutting any sworn officer positions. I have requested the City Manager’s Office and the Police Department, including management, supervisors and line officers, review the report and determine what the good ideas are and bring the recommendations to the Public Safety and Veterans Subcommittee, which I chair, so that we can continue the discussion about implementation. The first discussion is scheduled for the subcommittee meeting on May 24.
My opinion is that this report may tell us how we can focus resources on specific crimes that negatively impact our neighborhoods like prostitution, drugs, gangs, home invasions, metal theft and graffiti. I also would support placing more focus on community-based policing and building stronger partnerships with our community while improving response times, quality of service, and public and officer safety. This is how we build strong neighborhoods and continue to provide the quality of life our residents expect.
Media Contact:
| Stephanie Ribodal Romero Cell |
602-261-8512 602-412-7228 |
