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Consultant recommends 21 new police positions over three years to keep pace with growth
Summary
Justice Research Consultants told Anna officials that rising calls for service and multifamily growth justify 21 additional positions over the next three years, including 16 patrol officers; city manager said the budget will cover this year's needs.
Anna's Police Department is projected to need 21 additional personnel over the next three years, a consultant said during a Feb. 25 work session, citing rapid population and call-volume growth tied to new multifamily and rental housing.
Dr. Eric Fritch of Justice Research Consultants, hired to update a prior five-year staffing study, told the council his model — which factors calls for service, backup responses, administrative time and leave percentages — projects a yearly rise in workload. "Recommendation is for 16 additional patrol officers over the next 3 years," Dr. Fritch said, describing a phased hiring plan that also includes two detectives, a community engagement officer, a patrol lieutenant and a full-time administrative assistant.
Why it matters: Patrol staffing levels drive response time, visibility and proactive policing. The consultant modeled a 16.7% annual increase in calls for service, based both on recent trends and on large multifamily developments currently under way; he told the council those development types typically generate more calls per resident than single-family neighborhoods.
The consultant proposed hiring four patrol officers and a patrol lieutenant in the first year, six patrol officers in the second year and six more in the third year, with detectives and civilian support staggered into years two and three. Dr. Fritch emphasized the plan aims to maintain performance objectives such as lower response times and more self-initiated activity, which decline when workloads outpace staffing.
City manager Ryan Henderson told the council the city is budgeting to meet the study's needs for the upcoming fiscal year. "We are currently anticipating hitting the needs of this study, this budget cycle," Henderson said.
Council discussion touched on officer workspace, vehicles and equipment needs tied to new hires and whether certain roles (for example, parking enforcement) might be filled by non-sworn public safety officers. Staff noted ongoing cooperative arrangements with nearby cities for mutual aid and possible shared services.
No formal action was taken; the briefing was presented as a work session item to inform budget and staffing decisions.
