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Worcester police report about 650 unfilled off‑duty details in 2024; department exploring staffing and software options
Summary
The Worcester Police Department reported to the City Council Public Safety Subcommittee that approximately 650 off‑duty detail requests went unfilled in 2024 out of roughly 22,990 total detail assignments during the year.
The Worcester Police Department reported to the City Council Public Safety Subcommittee that approximately 650 off‑duty detail requests went unfilled in 2024 out of roughly 22,990 total detail assignments during the year.
"There are approximately 650 unfilled details," the deputy chief said while presenting Communication 4B, the city manager's informational transmittal. He added that of the unfilled total, 275 were interdepartmental requests. The department explained how the tally is constructed: if a contractor requests four officers and receives three, that counts as one unfilled detail for reporting purposes.
The deputy chief and staff discussed factors contributing to unfilled shifts, saying newer officers are less likely to take extra hours and some officers choose not to work details. The deputy chief said the department is examining several options to address gaps, including hiring college officers if contract and certification issues can be resolved, recruiting retired officers subject to collective bargaining constraints, and improving software and records management systems.
Committee members asked for comparative data and more granular reporting. Councilor Morris Bergman requested a comparison between 2023 and 2024 totals and asked whether the number of unfilled details increased in 2024. The deputy chief did not have the comparison on hand and the chair ordered a follow‑up (chairman's order) to produce the requested comparison and a breakdown of which details went unfilled.
Public commenter David Webb noted that city roadway and utility work created many detail requests and urged better recordkeeping; the department said it is transitioning an older application to a cloud‑based system and is working on a new records management system (RMS) implementation with vendors such as Hexagon.
The subcommittee accepted and filed the communication (4B). Members asked the department to return with a report showing a year‑over‑year comparison and a more precise breakdown of unfilled details by requester type and location.
