Crime & Safety

Deputy Police Chief Reviews Month Two of Reduced Staffing

In 25 instances, the force went down to four patrol officers from five scheduled.

Updated April 11 to clarify details of staffing plan

During the second month of Darien’s reduced police staffing trial, Deputy Police Chief David Skala said the department functioned with four out of five scheduled patrol officers on 25 of 84 total shifts.

That’s nearly double the 13 shifts that went down to four officers during the of the trial, which ran from Jan. 17-Feb. 13. The second month went from Feb. 14-March 13.

Under the trial system, which City Council  in December, the  still schedules officers with the goal of having at least five officers on street patrol during each of the three shifts per day. Nine officers total, including a supervising sergeant, are typically assigned to each shift so as to end up with five officers on street patrol after accounting for factors such as training and time off.

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However, the trial plan allows for a minimum of four patrol officers on the street per shift.

So, if another officer calls in sick or otherwise cannot work, the department will no longer fill that fifth slot with an overtime officer. Bringing in a  fifth officer who was not previously scheduled would result in extra pay. Previously, the department required a minimum of five patrol officers on duty during each shift.

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A number of factors contributed to the decrease in manpower, Skala said during Thursday’s Police Committee meeting.

On 11 occasions, Skala said officers called in sick. Seven more of the four-man shifts were related to on-duty injuries, he said.

Three officers are on medical leave, which Skala said caused the final eight instances of reduced staffing. Two officers went on medical leave for job-related injuries, he said. The third officer’s medical leave is not work-related. It’s unclear how long those leaves will last, he said.

Skala said there were “a couple” of instances where the reduced manpower impacted service. 

At the end of February, Skala said even with all five officers on duty, a situation tied up the full group for five hours. He did not elaborate on the incident.

Ward Six Alderman and Police Committee chair Sylvia McIvor said that if the chief or on-duty sergeant feels it’s necessary to call in officers on overtime, they may still do that at their discretion.

“I do not have the knowledge the sergeant tried to get a hold of anybody,” Skala said. “If I’m reading this correctly, they did not have a lot of time. But they do always have the option to call somebody in.”

Skala estimated that the program saved $4,000 in overtime during its first month and $7,100 during the second month.

McIvor suggested the police department do a quarterly review at the end of the third month to determine exactly how much the plan reduced overtime pay, as well as how it impacted service.


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