Mayor Ed Gainey unveiled a long-awaited study of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police’s staffing levels Wednesday, revealing research he has repeatedly said he needs to see before making major changes to the force. The 175-page report recommends drastically reducing the city’s number of patrol officers, but at Wednesday’s press conference, Gainey’s new Police Chief Larry Scirotto said he disagrees with that suggestion.
“This gives a new chief a great road map to start with,” Gainey said. Neither Scirotto or Gainey clarified which of the report’s many suggestions would eventually be implemented. Gainey called the report, from California-based Matrix Consulting, a “blueprint that can be changed.”
The consultants found that the bureau’s patrol officer’s have 71% of their available hours left over after calls for service are handled — far above the 50% level they recommend. They urged the city to shift 188 budgeted positions out of patrol ranks and into a number of more specialized and community-facing roles. The city currently budgets for 463 patrol officers, though a number of those positions are vacant.
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Future of Policing 