Reducing positions while maintaining service

I wrote in my last blog about the staffing challenges the budget for this fiscal year (which began Sunday) presented to our department. We now have worked out exactly where we are going to reduce positions, and I wanted to share that with our community. Keep in mind we are eliminating positions, not people. All the positions that are being reduced this year already were vacant or are expected to be vacated through attrition. Many of these spots have been vacant for years, so it's not as though we're embarking on a sudden reduction in force.

To balance our budget, we had to decrease our 1,457 sworn law enforcement positions by about 8 percent. As a comparison, that’s about the equivalent of the staffing of a whole suburban patrol division (like South, North or Shoal Creek patrol divisions) and then some. Of course we spread these reductions out to minimize the impact on neighborhoods as much as possible. And not all are in patrol. Some will be detective spots, others are training officers, and more.

Here is how eliminated positions break down in some of the most visible bureaus – Investigations and Patrol:

• 24 from the Investigations Bureau (includes Violent Crime, Violent Crime Enforcement and Narcotics and Vice divisions)
  
• 85 from the Patrol Bureau:

     - Central Patrol reduced by 24 positions to 162 officers
     - Metro Patrol reduced by 14 positions to 150 officers
     - East Patrol reduced by 17 positions to 155 officers
     - South Patrol reduced by 13 positions to 94 officers
     - North Patrol reduced by 9 positions to 92 officers
     - Shoal Creek reduced by 2 positions to 92 officers
     - Special Operations Division (includes Tactical Enforcement, Canine, Mounted Patrol, Helicopter and Bomb & Arson) reduced by 2 positions to 81 officers
     - Traffic Division reduced by 4 positions to 85 officers.

This undoubtedly puts more pressure on the officers in the field and increases caseloads for those in investigations. As I mentioned previously, continued reductions in force could lead to increased response times for 911 calls. But we’re doing what we can to abate that.

We’ve come up with a number of ways to help reduce the demand on patrol officers so they can spend the time needed to provide the service our residents expect and deserve, rather than running from call to call. Our Tactical Enforcement officers are increasingly responding to 911 calls for service. Officers in the Traffic Enforcement Division are helping secure crime scenes – a job that used to belong to district officers. This frees the district officers up to answer calls or help with the on-scene investigation. I’ve shifted our Hot Spot program to put officers into the areas that are most in need of police attention. They’re working on everything from seeking out parole absconders and violent crime suspects to helping with community clean-ups and neighborhood meetings. You can read more about those changes in last month’s Informant newsletter.

We’ve realigned several things in investigations to streamline casework and ensure detectives properly follow up with all cases. Our Quality Control Unit is working with officers and detectives to ensure the best cases possible are presented for prosecution, which should help assist detectives as they take on more work.

We're always looking at ways to improve our efficiency. One of the things we're currently examining is how officers' shifts are scheduled. We must work within the budget we are allocated. As you read in my last blog, we have made many cost-cutting moves over the last few years. With law enforcement under more scrutiny than ever before, we will continue to serve our city with professionalism and integrity, no matter the circumstances or budget.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org. 

Area Command Unit gets 200 illegal guns off the street in 2013

The Area Command Unit marked an impressive accomplishment last night: it took its 200^th illegal gun off the street.

I activated the Area Command Unit on January 1, 2013. The unit was tasked with the primary goals of targeting active, violent criminals involved in firearm violations and suppressing violent crime. In addition to the target objectives, the Area Command Unit works collaboratively with all department units to continually stay aware of active criminal elements in the city. The unit is aggressive in its efforts to seek out these elements and pursue successful prosecution of individuals found to be violating laws, with a concentrated focus on illegal firearms. The Area Command Unit also serves as the primary enforcement arm of the Kansas City No Violence Alliance (KC NoVA).

Last night, Area Command Unit officers did a “knock and talk” at a house in the 4100 block of Monroe, where officers conducting surveillance previously had seen guns being sold in the front yard. The resident consented to let officers search part of his house except for one room, and the officers then got a warrant to search that room. They recovered five guns, ammunition and magazines. They were illegal because the resident is a convicted felon, and felons are prevented from possessing firearms or ammunition by federal law.

Those five guns brought the Area Command Unit’s total of illegal weapons taken off the street this year to 200. Illegal weapons are used in a significant amount of the city’s violent crime, and now there are 200 that can’t be.

We initially activated the Area Command Unit within the boundaries of the East Patrol Division, then expanded to Central and Metro patrol divisions in March. The Area Command Unit consists of three Squads, made up of six officers, one detective and a sergeant. The Unit also has an operations sergeant and is commanded by a captain who reports to the Patrol Bureau. I look forward to seeing more of their great work in 2014.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org 

Thanks for your service, Doc

John "Doc" McCalla started serving as an auxiliary volunteer for the Kansas City Missouri Police Department more than 23 years ago, after he'd retired from his career as a physician. Today, he "retired" again at the place he's worked so hard for so many years, the Metro Patrol Division. His ceremony today comes just a few days after Doc's 86th birthday.

Doc came to KCPD by being involved in his neighborhood's crime prevention group in the early 1980s. He worked with police a lot during that time and decided to join our team. Without pay, he spent years disseminating crime statistics to neighborhoods, attending community group meetings on behalf of KCPD, stuffing envelopes and mailing information, and recruiting some new employees. Once, he even saved the life of a woman who collapsed in the old Metro Patrol Division's parking lot. He also served for years on the board of the Missouri Crime Prevention Association and has been a huge help to Metro Patrol's Community Interaction Officer.

Thanks, Doc, for your selfless service to the Kansas City Police Department and the people of this community.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Old Metro Patrol Station being torn down

The old Metro Patrol Division station at 1880 E. 63rd St. will soon be no more. Our goal is to have the building demolished by the end of the year. Built in 1977, it was in such poor condition that the cost to repair the building would have been well more than it is worth. Even if we were to use it as a storage facility, the leaks are so bad that the roof would need repair – which would be another large cost. I’ve heard from several people that the roof has leaked there since the grand opening of the building 33 years ago.

The old station has been vacant since June, when we opened the new station at 7601 Prospect Ave. But we didn’t forget about it. Inside every Kansas City Police facility is a bronze plaque stating when it was constructed, by whom, and who was on the Board of Police Commissioners and City Council at the time. We took that plaque out of the old Metro Station and installed it in the new building. I know the old station had a lot of sentimental value to many people, and we wanted to preserve it in some manner.

Demolition already is underway. The property is being abated right now as crews remove anything that requires special handling – like the fuel tanks that are there. Then, our goal is to have the building demolished and the site cleared by Dec. 31.

The future of the 1.5-acre site hasn’t been decided. It sits adjacent to the city’s Daniel Morgan Boone Park and is next to the burial site of the man for whom the park is named – the third son of legendary frontiersman Daniel Boone. So it has some historical and recreational value. We’ll try to keep you up to date on what will become of it.

The good news is that all the buildings constructed under this current public safety sales tax and the extension just approved by voters are designed to last at least 50 years. Maintenance funding has been built into the tax, so these buildings will serve the people of this city for many decades to come.


Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Thanks for your support!

Thanks so much to the hundreds of people who came out to our grand opening celebration of the new Metro Patrol Division Station this afternoon, and thanks to all those who were there in spirit. I was especially touched today when the crowd broke out into a roar of applause when one of the speakers said our officers deserve a nice facility like this. The truth is, they do deserve this, and they've been working under pretty bad conditions the last several years at the previous station on 63rd Street. But who really deserves this is the community, and we are so proud to share this with them. Below are some of my remarks from today's event:

"Thank you everyone for coming out today to celebrate the opening of a facility that will allow us to provide better police service to more than 97,000 Kansas Citians who reside in the Metro Patrol Division and the thousands more who visit it every day.


This new police station is more than 2.5 times larger than the old station to better accommodate the public and the 201 officers and civilians who work here around the clock, 365 days a year. It has 102 more parking spaces and a community room for neighborhood gatherings. It’s also within a quarter-mile of two city bus lines for easy access.

We very much appreciate how supportive area residents have been of this project. The Marlborough Neighborhood Association donated $8,000 to have three benches installed near the main entrance to honor all police service and commemorate those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. Marlborough also donated several historic pictures of the Metro Patrol Division area, including one of Fairyland Park. We stand today on the site of that former amusement park and are excited about bringing life and vibrancy back to this portion of the city.

This new building allows much more space for property crimes detectives to work, creates a more secure detention area and contains room to expand in the future. Behind you, you will see two outbuildings that now store all of our specialty vehicles, including the command post bus, Bomb and Arson vehicle and Tactical Team tanks. These were previously housed in a rented storage facility, and having them here allows for much faster response times.

This project was built to meet the LEED Silver standard, meaning it was designed to be environmentally responsible. We made every effort to ensure the building is energy efficient and has a minimal impact on the surrounding area. This new station has received the Southtown Beautification Award for new construction projects from the Southtown Council.

There are many people to thank for making this new Metro Patrol Division station a reality, but the most important to recognize are you, the citizens of Kansas City. By voting to approve the public safety sales tax in 2002, you paved the way for this $17 million facility. Were it not for your vote and your tax dollars, police would still be operating out of a small, 35-year-old station on 63rd Street that is in such poor condition that it will be torn down as soon as it is vacated. Thank you for your commitment to keeping Kansas City safe.

We would also like to recognize the work of:


• Ken Henton and John Conner, of Hoefer Wysoki Architects,
• Project Manager Chris Liermann and Site Superintendent Jack Ferrell of Titan Construction,
• Eric Bosch, of the City Architect’s office,
• Consultant Mike Oldham, of HNTB Engineering
• Artist Michael Davis, whose piece “Salute” is at the main entrance
• Project Officer Lee Rafferty, of the KCPD Capital Improvements Unit
• And all of the department elements who worked countless hours to make the new Metro Patrol Division Station fully operational."

Remember, the new station opens for business at 9 a.m. Friday, June 18.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org