Phoenix PD Staffing Shortage Forces 'Shift Of Resources'

PHOENIX, AZ — To deal with what it's calling an "unprecedented staffing shortage" The Phoenix Police Department is moving around 100 officers and detectives from speciality positions to patrol.

The department plans to move officers to patrol from programs across the board in an effort to have more than 1,200 officers assigned to patrol, the department announced Thursday. There are currently around 400 open positions within the department.

The decision to make the shift was because of a nearly 10 percent increase in response time over the past year to the department's most urgent emergency calls.

In a video message Police Chief Jeri Williams said the department had tried a variety of strategies to maintain the level of service the community deserves.

"When you pick up the phone and call for help, I want to make sure one of my officers is there," Williams said.

Programs losing the most officers to patrol are community programs (24), neighborhood enforcement (19), community engagement (13), training (11), drug enforcement (9) and property crimes (10).

But other important units will also lose a few officers each, including family investigations (4), violent crimes (3), tactical support (2) and homeland defense (2).

The department promised that no programs would be cut because of the resource shift.

"This plan was not entered into lightly," Williams said. "We know it has an impact on our officers and their families and you, our community."