On Tuesday, the Vallejo City Council could adopt an emergency proclamation proclaiming a public safety staffing emergency in the Vallejo Police Department.
The move could come as 5 officers lateraled to other agencies and as of July 22, there were just 34 officers assigned to patrol. This is also prompting service model reductions such as responding to alarm calls, while also temporarily disbanded the traffic division. It also has reduced staffing in the detective division.
Its anticipated more officers are set to leave within the next month or two.
According to the Staff Report:
The City of Vallejo Police Department staffing numbers continue to decline. In order for the City and department to quickly implement changes regarding police staffing and to continue providing police services to Vallejo, an emergency order is being requested
On March 21, 2023, Interim Chief of Police Jason Ta provided City Council with the status of department
staffing and police resources. The presentation outlined the necessary phases the police department would need to implement if sworn officer staffing numbers continued to decline. Staffing has continued to decrease with 5 officers resigning since the March presentation (all lateraling to other local agencies). As of July 22, 2023, there are 34 officers assigned to patrol (not including supervisors). As explained in the prior presentation, the Department has taken a 4-Phase approach to staffing as follows:
Phase #1 – Service Model Reduction
This phase has been partially implemented. A comprehensive study of the department’s response to alarm calls has been analyzed. It was discovered that 98% of the alarm call events were determined to be false alarms. In 2022, the department responded to 3,627 alarm calls, averaging 10 calls per day, with an average of 23 minutes spent on each call, spending a total officer monthly time of 115 hours. It is estimated that the department can divert potentially 115 hours per month towards other police services. The department is working with the City Attorney’s Office on revising the municipal code relating to alarm calls, as well as organizing future public town halls to discuss the service model change in order to fully implement this service reduction.
Phase #2 & #3 – Rotation of Officers to Patrol Shifts & Completely Collapsing Traffic and Detective Division
Phase #2 has been completely implemented and the Department has moved on to Phase #3. The Department has temporarily disbanded the Traffic Division and decreased staffing in the Detective Division by rotating one detective per week to work a patrol shift. It is anticipated that the Department will have exhausted Phase 3 efforts soon, as it prepares for Phase 4.
Phase #4 – Modifying All Patrol Shifts to 12-hour Shifts or Another Staffing Model
This phase has not been implemented but will provide additional patrol resources by changing the current 10-hour and 12.5-hour shifts to all 12-hour shifts or another staffing model not currently in place Even with the implementation of the 4 phases discussed above, the Department has now reached a critical stage in staffing. The Department is now down to 34 patrol officers, including officers from the disbanded Traffic Division. Further, there are another three officers who will be leaving the Department within the next 30 days. Staffing levels are now down to a point where the Department will no longer be able to respond to Priority 2 and 3 calls on a timely basis. The continuing erosion of staffing will further exacerbate this situation. With approximately 126,000 residents, numerous visitors and businesses in the City, the current level of police staffing represents a circumstance of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the City. The Department is therefore requesting a proclamation of emergency to allow the City Manager to take all necessary actions to address the emergency
To view the staff report, click here