Fewer police officers will be patrolling the streets of Berkeley starting Saturday as the department struggles with staffing shortages.
Earlier this week in a memo to the mayor and City Council, the Berkeley city manager announced that the police department would have to go from a 16-beat to a 14-beat configuration because the department is consistently understaffed and it hasn't been able to hire enough officers.
Berkeley Scanner, an independent news website, reported that Berkeley PD normally has about 150 officers, and that number is down by more than 30 because of leave, injuries and other issues. The department is authorized to have about 180 officers but cannot seem find people to fill those roles.
Berkeley Scanner also reported that the new beat structure means non-emergency calls will take longer to respond to, and if there's a big emergency, Berkeley police may need to call for mutual aid from other agencies.
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The Berkeley Police Department released a statement Friday, saying in part: "BPD is not currently on mandatory staffing. If a patrol team falls short of the minimum staffing numbers, this will be backfilled with officers volunteering to sign up to fill the overtime."
Here is the statement in it entirety from the department's spokeperson:
"BPD is not currently on mandatory staffing. If a patrol team falls short of the minimum staffing numbers, this will be backfilled with officers volunteering to sign up to fill the overtime.
"Minimum patrol staffing is not the same as having all of the beats filled. We have a minimum staffing number for each patrol team, if the team falls short of the minimum staffing number (i.e. sick calls) then it is filled with overtime. During day time hours when the department has officers working in other assignments, such as our Bike Unit, officers can assist with patrol and fill a beat as well. It varies.
"We have a 14 beat map. Each patrol team is two Sergeants and 8-10 officers depending on the shift. A patrol team in itself does not fill all the beats. When shifts overlap, majority of the day, all the beats are filled.
Patrol Teams:
- Team 1: 6 am – 4 pm M/T/W/TH
- Team 2: 11 am – 9 pm M/T/W/TH
- Team 3: 3:30 pm – 1:30 am M/T/W/TH
- Team 4: 8:30 pm – 6:30 am M/T/W/TH
- Team 5: 6 am – 6:30 pm F/S/SU
- Team 6: 12:30 pm – 1 am F/S/SU
- Team 7: 6 pm – 6:30 am F/S/SU
"BPDs minimum staffing levels are determined by the Department, in collaboration with the Berkeley Police Association. This is based on data analysis and a collaborative review by all involved parties.
"I do not have any information pertaining to budget, cost savings or OT hours. This is something that would have to be a public records request. At face value, one body was cut from each patrol team, 7 bodies a week, this in its self is a cost saving. The department is currently working to finalize the firm to conduct a staffing study. This was a recommendation based on the audit and reimagining process. Once the firm is finalized, the study should be completed in 9-12 months."
