Prescott police review staffing, recruiting and technology as PRCC expands regional dispatch service

Prescott Police Department leaders briefed the City Council on staffing, recruiting, training and technology investments, and Jim DeLonge, director of the Prescott Regional Communication Center (PRCC), described PRCC's regional growth and performance statistics.

Deputy Chief John Brambilla told council the police budget will be similar to the prior year but has increased staffing authority after local funding changes. "The majority of our costs are personnel," Brambilla said while reviewing the department's roughly $20 million budget. The department said it had added six sworn positions in the current fiscal year and reported a budgeted sworn headcount of 93; current sworn staffing on hand was reported as 79 as the department continues recruitment and lateral-hire efforts.

Police leaders said they are testing for new officers monthly, are recruiting laterals who are already certified in Arizona and planned an academy in July. The department reported hiring eight new officers in 2024 (including one lateral) and 14 civilian employees during that year.

Lieutenants and section commanders highlighted operational and program-level metrics: calls for service were reported at 45,202 (up about 2% year over year), arrests increased, and community policing contacts rose. The department described investments in records and digital evidence management (Axon/evidence.com), body-worn camera redaction workloads and a new and expanding training partnership with Yavapai College that will give recruits college credits.

Traffic, community services and investigations leaders described enforcement and specialty units: school resource officers are assigned to Granite Mountain High School through a grant; the department's canine teams and traffic investigators support county-wide work. The traffic section cited 1,007 collisions in 2024, 211 injuries and two fatalities; when asked for details on the two fatal collisions, staff said they would provide follow-up information.

Technology and wellness initiatives were emphasized. Lieutenant Jason Small and other presenters described license-plate readers, drones/technical support for scene mapping and event overwatch, and social-media outreach (the department reported about 25,000 social followers). The department also described a "recharge room" funded by the police foundation with red-light therapy panels and a cold-plunge unit for employee wellness.

PRCC director Jim DeLonge reported that the regional dispatch center is bringing several new fire departments onto the platform in the coming fiscal year, expanding geographic coverage from roughly 1,176 square miles to about 5,000 square miles across western Yavapai County. "Our answer time, 98.78% of the time, we answer the call in less than 15 seconds," DeLonge said, and he noted PRCC's approach spreads cost and liability across partners while maintaining performance standards. PRCC staff said growth to the larger footprint is proceeding without immediate new core-hire requirements because the center is scaling operations with existing staff and partner fees.

Council members pressed on facilities, service details and next steps; police staff said they will continue monthly testing and outreach to grow sworn ranks and will follow up with requested details about specific traffic fatalities and other incident-level items.