Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Police Department topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Matrix recommends reorganizing Norman patrol into flexible community-services unit, adding detectives and dispatch staff
Summary
Matrix Consulting Group advised the council to redeploy patrol, creating a larger Community Services division, add six detectives, expand civilian analysts and add nine dispatch positions to reduce investigation backlogs and cover rising workloads tied to university/nightlife patterns.
Matrix Consulting Group told the Norman City Council on Feb. 4 that the police department should refocus patrol, add investigators and civilian analysts, and expand communications staffing to address uneven workload distribution and investigative backlogs.
Richard Brady, president of Matrix Consulting Group, said the study showed an unusual calls-for-service pattern for a university city: “most of the workload happens… between 12 and 03:00 in the morning,” with additional peaks late afternoon and early evening. Brady said that pattern, combined with leisure-nightlife and casino activity, produces both heavy night-time demand and pockets of proactive time the department could better exploit.
Matrix recommended creating an expanded Community Services division — a flexibly deployed, proactive unit — by moving roughly 24 patrol positions into a 26-officer, three-lieutenant section operating on two 10-hour shifts. Brady said the reorganization could allow the department to maintain effective coverage with fewer officers assigned to standard patrol beats (the consultants suggested 70 patrol officers plus MPOs and sergeants instead of roughly 94), while assigning the redeployed personnel to hot-spot work, university liaison and special-event coverage.
On investigations, Matrix recommended six additional detectives and a third lieutenant to reduce caseloads and improve follow-up on person and property crimes. The firm also proposed hiring civilian investigative and crime analysts, expanding victims’ services and adding modest forensic and shelter support to speed case processing.
Communications (dispatch) staffing was flagged as a pressing need: Matrix recommended about nine additional console staff plus one supervisor to reduce turnover-related gaps and ensure consistent console coverage. Brady described communications as an overhire situation driven by turnover and the need to staff consoles continuously.
The consultants discussed facility and technology implications. They urged a facilities needs assessment for police and fire; during the meeting Matrix and council referenced an order-of-magnitude replacement cost for a modern police headquarters of about $25 million and suggested that remodeling the current HQ would be costly and likely impractical. Councilmembers and staff also discussed interim remodeling to make current facilities usable while a long-term plan is developed.
Council members queried how the study ties to budget timing; consultants recommended folding recommendations into the budget process and linking personnel additions and facility work to revenue growth and development triggers. No formal vote occurred; Matrix said the next steps are a facilities assessment and integration of staffing requests into the upcoming budget deliberations.
The presentation generated detailed operational questions from council about overtime audits, siting of substations and funding mechanisms including the public safety sales tax and possible property-tax or district options. The consultants said the city should monitor roadway and development projects that will change population density and demand for services, and that the city should adopt performance reporting to show whether service and response targets are being met.
No binding decisions were made during the session; council directed staff to consider the study in future budget work and to return with more detailed cost and timing estimates.
