The Phoenix Police Department (PPD) announced on Wednesday that around 100 officers and detectives from specialty divisions such as Violent Crimes are being transferred to patrol units due to a severe lack of officers on the streets and handling 911 calls. The department’s goal is to get the number of officers on patrol duty back up to over 1,000.
The PPD acknowledged officer attrition reached an “unprecedented” rate in early 2021. “These trends indicated the loss rate would become critical due to insufficient hiring and increased employee separations,” Phoenix Police Department Chief Jeri L. Williams said in the plan.
Compounding the problem, she said, “[T]his past year, saw an increase of nearly 10% in priority one, or emergency calls.” About 108 officers and 15 sergeants will be transferred. Williams admitted PPD is currently short 400 officers.
An officer who has served with the PPD for 16 years, who prefers to remain anonymous, told The Arizona Sun Times the problem is far worse than PPD is letting on. Of those 100 being transferred to patrol, the officer estimated 15% will retire or quit. He said that because Democrats control the city — the mayor and most of the members of the city council — the police are underfunded. Due to low pay and negligible incentives, many officers are transferring to other cities like Glendale and it’s very difficult to attract new recruits.
Read the rest of the article at The Arizona Sun Times
