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Council hears police staffing shortfall; online nonemergency reporting to be promoted
Summary
Officials said the police department is down about 18'20 officers (roughly 25% of staffing) and will roll out a user-friendly online reporting portal to shift nonurgent reports off dispatch; staff described outreach plans to publicize the portal.
Councilor Dean told the council the police department is experiencing a significant staffing shortfall and will deploy a revamped online reporting tool for nonemergency and non-time-sensitive public requests to manage workload.
"On any given day, they're down between 18 and 20, which is just shy of 25% of their staff," Dean said. He explained the online portal is expected to let businesses and residents request reports for insurance or nonurgent follow-ups without tying up dispatchers. Staff said police will use social media, postcards and retail partners to promote the option.
Why it matters: Councilors said a growing vacancy rate affects response capacity and called for a fast, robust public-education plan so citizens default to the portal for low-priority reports. The council asked staff to report on outreach metrics and consider recorded-call messages to direct callers to the web portal.
