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Oakland police facing smaller work forceOAKLAND, Dec 07, 2010 (The Oakland Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- With officers' numbers already thinned by budget-driven layoffs this year, police administrators now are dealing with further erosion of the ranks through retirements and the lure of other jobs. Police Chief Anthony Batts says Oakland needs a minimum of 925 police officers. Starting next month, however, Oakland city officials say there is only enough money to pay for 637 positions, the lowest rank-and-file number since 1987, and the department is quickly reaching that level. Currently, 669 positions are filled, but with an average of five people leaving monthly, that number could drop much further in the coming months. In November 2008, the department had 837 officers, the highest number of uniformed officers in the city's history, however, layoffs and attrition have caused staffing levels to drop by 20 percent. Deputy Chief Eric Breshears said at a news briefing Monday that the department should have a minimum of 420 officers assigned to the patrol division, which would include beat officers, a 75 member problem-solving unit, including supervisors, other specialized units. But because of the department's shrinking numbers, there will only be 350 officers in the patrol division come early next year, including the 75 assigned to problem-solving officer duties. The department has asked for volunteers but is still figuring out who will fill the problem-solving positions. Breshears said that keeping the patrol level at 350 means reductions in other parts of the police force. Youth and Family Services, which handles sexual assault, child abuse and domestic violence cases, is going to merge with the Criminal Investigation Division, which handles homicides, robberies, shootings and burglaries. With the merge, 11 officers will be transferred out of the new unit to the patrol division, which will mean some cases, such as property crimes, will get even less attention than they do now. "It will be a pretty dramatic reduction in (where) we should be," Breshears said. "We need more police in the city. The numbers speak for themselves." The situation is even more dire. At least 70 officers are off work because they are injured, although 22 of them are expected back soon to "light duty" positions. What's more, police said 30 officers have applied to other police departments and as many as 40 will be eligible for retirement by the end of the year. Breshears said the department is looking for grant money to pay for officer's salaries instead of using Measure BB and general fund money. The department also plans to increase the number of retired officers to work at the department in various positions at an hourly rate but not as patrol officers. Despite the shrinking numbers of police officers, Breshears did point out that the overall crime rate is down 14 percent compared to last year. Homicides are down 21 percent compared to 2009. "(The officers) have a very hard workload. They are making a difference," he said. Sgt. Dom Arotzarena, president of the Oakland Police Officers Association, said the union believes there is money available to bring officers back because of salary savings. Arotzarena claims that millions of dollars have been saved since July when 80 police officers were laid off. There could be even more savings, he said, since at least a dozen more officers have left recently. "It's already a crisis, but (the city) can stop it if they spend some money to hire cops back," he said. But even if the city could find a way to rehire some laid off police officers, it might have trouble. Of the 80, more than 50 percent have secured other jobs, including seven recently hired by the Contra Costa Sheriff's Office. To see more of The Oakland Tribune or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/. Copyright (c) 2010, The Oakland Tribune, Calif. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. |