Consultant recommends three additional patrol officers after Sandy police workload review

A consultant hired to analyze Sandy Police Department workload recommended the city add three sworn patrol officers and set an authorized hiring level of 20 to maintain an operational complement of 19 officers.

Michelle of BerryDunn presented the study findings and methodology, based on computer-aided dispatch and records-management analysis, staff interviews and workload modeling. She said Sandy patrol officers average roughly 1,600 patrol hours annually and that a national benchmarking approach (30/30/30/10 workload model) supports the staffing recommendation. “The average officer within Sandy is actually on duty doing patrol services approximately 1,600 hours a year,” Michelle said.

The report identified a substantial amount of "supplanting" (about 17.6% of total activity) where non-patrol staff or supplemental patrols respond to calls, reducing patrol capacity. Investigations staffing, the consultant said, appears sufficient with some schedule adjustments; a detective averaged about 43 assigned cases and roughly 40 hours per case for investigative time, which the study judged manageable.

Council members discussed amortizing vehicle and equipment costs, long-term funding options and the possibility of grants or public-safety fees. The mayor proposed a short-term plan to accelerate hiring that would use existing contingency funds and an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with Clackamas County that covers 80% of a community services officer's cost for three years. Council asked staff to prepare a concrete funding proposal and timeline for a vote to recruit the additional officers.

Next steps: staff will draft a funding plan (including amortized equipment costs and possible use of council contingency and the IGA) and return to council with a proposal to begin recruiting.