PHOENIX POLICE DEPARTMENT UNDER PRESSURE
How the recession, COVID-19 and other events have affected law enforcement
Phoenix PD continues to protect a quickly growing population with the same small number of officers
For over a decade, the Phoenix Police Department has failed to meet the City’s recommended staffing levels. As the population continues to explode in Phoenix, the number of police officers has remained the same. In 2010 there were 2.4 officers per 1000 citizens; that ratio today is 1.7 officers.
There are currently 2,919* sworn officers in the Phoenix PD. Of those, 784 officers, or 27% of the police department, could retire and leave the force today.
*September 2020 staffing level
Phoenix has LESS officers than other comparable cities
Compared to other major cities like New York City, Chicago and Philadelphia; Phoenix has significantly less officers
Phoenix needs more police officers to curb the rise in violent crime
The crime reforms from the 1990’s worked. However, the economic recession prevented police departments from hiring enough officers to meet the growing population and the demands that come with it.
The most worrying statistics show that Phoenix’s violent crime rate is increasing at staggering rates in the past few years.
This has all been exacerbated by the pandemic which has caused gang and domestic violence related homicides to increase in the past year.
Phoenix Residents Have Positive Experiences with Officers and Want More of Them
Despite rising crime and greater workloads, Phoenix Police Officers continue to make their citizens feel safe and treat them well during interactions.
Phoenix Police Officers receive high marks
According to a poll conducted by OH Predictive Insights in October of 2020, Phoenix residents have positive experiences with police officers, and would feel safer with more officers on the streets.
Phoenicians want more officers
Officers that Phoenix PD needs more? Really because the only person that gets put or.taken to office, that is jail is me! The people that have taken me to be a an inmate because they have captured me or someone has called them the police to and then.they dislpatch some person that show up and have guns and break in because someone is getting is soing something that they dont like or that they say tbat it is illegal. I want to inform.soneone of these people because it is not suppose to be like this that these people have protected nothing theyapproach people like as if they are wanting to help they dont take no gor an answer they have said that they are arresting me tieing me up and telling me what i have the right to do or not because they enforce the law! Please get them stopped because they xo tinue to recruit me and they are still around. There is no rule or command to be what people have to do over than just what is normal and they have used and aid that they find things with me and that those things are illegal and they rake them from me and they ay that because I had them that I have to pay be punished, grounded locked up made to serve be at a place rhat is a jail not.my.home.but the place that thw use to keep me and they have please they are collectors they are having some kind of debt a account and they want to make me pay with time and they dont let me leave.I am so tired of being scared because theyre is no reasoning with them they just show.up and they come righf at me wanting to know.what is going on, and they are atrangers people that come because the call to 911 and they arrest me put me in retraints and bwcause they are just doing their job. I now that it is not allowed or
It seems impossible that everything that has happened and is happening to me will never get stopped that it will just be the same thing that the police are the bugggymen because they do scare me anx they have xommited acts of violence of intelligence and that they have used force and continuee to use this system of askimg or getting permiasion telling a judge that they need to get some paper that will be used to tell someone that they have been allowed to be let in somewheee and that they can look.through my things and that they can say that whatever they find is not.allowed or unlawful. They have said and punished me for them finding going through my things drugs or rhings to use the drugs. Drugs they say are not allowed to have and that anything used to use the drugs is also nor allowed and that they but the state will prosecute me. Punish me make me pay bwcause they are whim pick up thw chargea and then thwy want and thwy so have me pay for them!