After the city of San Jose declared a state of emergency for its short-staffed police department, 47 police detectives are now being forced to leave their posts and hop in a squad car to begin neighborhood patrols.
One of those detectives, Chau Pham from the Sexual Assault Investigation Unit, is not pleased with the decision because it overwhelms a four-person unit that is responsible for keeping an eye on the city's roughly 3,000 registered sex offenders.
"The redeployment is tough," Pham said. "Not something I expected. But its one of those things you have to preserve and keep moving along."
Pham, along with one other detective from his unit, is scheduled to sport a blue uniform and return to patrols next week, leaving two employees to man the sexual assaults unit.
Sergeant John Marfia says that such a move makes the unit's job that much more difficult.
"There's no room for error," he said. "No room to allow something to sit and go unattended. There's no excuses. Can't blame manpower. Can't blame the sign of the times."
Marfia added that the Sexual Assault Investigation Unit will still do everything in its power to combat sex crimes during the staffing crisis.
Local
The San Jose City Council voted 10-1 Tuesday to reallocate more officers to patrol the city's streets.
