Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Police chief cites rising calls and staffing shortfall; urges fleet plan and highlights drone and clinician programs
Summary
Police Chief Lorele Sher told the committee Beverly saw about 26,000 calls for service last year, that the department has 74 officers versus an FBI benchmark of about 86–87, and that vehicle replacement is shifting to capital planning while drone use and grant‑funded clinician positions support response and mental‑health interventions.
Chief Lorele Sher of the Beverly Police Department told the finance and property committee that calls for service have increased and that staffing and fleet planning are central issues in the FY26 budget discussion. “We have increased every year approximately 26,000 calls for service,” Sher said, adding a figure later in the presentation that rose to about 26,800 calls in the most recent year.
Sher said the department currently has 74 sworn officers and cited FBI benchmarks that suggest a city Beverly’s size would typically have about 86 or 87 officers: “We should probably have 86, 87 police officers. We have 74,” she said. Sher described how leaves, academy schedules and retirements affect overtime and patrol coverage and noted that the…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
