Almost a year of research indicates that police need more time
and manpower to prevent rather than respond to crime, but the data
also portrays discontent rank-and-file officers who want louder
voices and more accountability for their supervisors.
GILROY
Almost a year of research indicates that police need more time and manpower to prevent rather than respond to crime, but the data also portrays discontent rank-and-file officers who want louder voices and more accountability for their supervisors.
As of January 2007, an average of 6.5 sworn officers were on duty at any given hour of the day, according to the report by Matrix Consulting Group. More often than not, they respond to calls rather than initiate incidents, and the nearly 25,000 calls for service in 2006 were mostly non-emergency reports of disturbances, suspicious behavior, barking dogs, loud noise or alarms.
Even though the 104-member Gilroy Police Department’s overall response time surpassed the department average in the western United States, the report said officers consequently had little time to patrol proactively: targeting known gang areas, addressing traffic congestion, and preventing theft or property damage. Doing this all with goals in mind increases accountability and allows elected officials to objectively evaluate law enforcement, the report states.
In addition to the calls last year, patrol officers initiated 15,264 incidents – about 42 events per day – ranging from vehicle to pedestrian stops. That number needs to be higher, the report states, and this means more officers deployed more efficiently.
Most department personnel surveyed said they agreed, and Pipkin said Matrix distributed and collected the surveys during the same time that the secret retirements and re-hirings of the chief and assistant chief became public knowledge in February.
Various city officials have said this was a blow to department morale, but confidence aside, the city keeps growing.
For this reason, the report gives the police department, city administrator and city council a buffet-style of millions in expenses and savings that will improve department efficiency.
