Photo: FOP Lodge #3 President, Lt. Gene Ryan; source The Baltimore Sun.
Gene Ryan, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3 in Baltimore, said that the Baltimore Police Department has reached a “tipping point” and that the department is “working the patrol shifts to death,” according to a news report from The Baltimore Sun.
Ryan reported that patrol officers can “only respond to calls for service, with no time left for proactive policing of any nature.” Ryan further explained, “This is a dire situation in terms of the operational safety of our officers and can no longer be tolerated.”
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Ryan’s remarks follow the release of a Baltimore PD report about “Community Policing” that indicated how the number of patrol officers decreased in the past year—despite the claim by department officials that deploying patrol officers is a priority.
The city and police union are also in the middle of difficult contract negotiations. Department spokesman T.J. Smith stated that police officials “recognize the staffing challenges” and are working to resolve them.
Baltimore City Council President Bernard Young reported that he also has concerns about the levels of police staffing and the fewer number of officers on the streets.
And while city and union officials debate the cause of lower numbers of patrol officers—whether blaming 10-shifts, or re-deploying officers to investigative assignments—2016 marked the second deadliest year (per capita) with 318 homicides and a rise in crime overall.
Getting officers on the street is one thing, and the “word on the street” is another. Ryan pointed out another point: criminals are “…fully aware that our low staffing numbers make us inefficient.”
He also pointed out another troubling indicator: “Currently there are upwards of 200-300 officers that could retire in 2017 and it is no secret that the BPD has become a training ground for police recruits intent on leaving for better paying agencies that put greater importance on operational safety and employee support.”
And it seems both officers and citizens are suffering. With some shifts only being half-filled, excessive overtime demands, and fatigue, Ryan said that patrol levels reach staffing levels “far lower than any professional law enforcement organization would ever consider even remotely adequate.”
Read FOP Lodge #3 President Gene Ryan’s Response to the Baltimore Sun article…
