Police chief believes reorganization plan will improve efficiency

Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus said he was hired to make tough decisions about the department, both in its size and how it operates, and he believes his planned reorganization should make the force better trained and more efficient.

He said the department will be leaner but it will be stronger as it moves more officers into patrol, which is the backbone of the department in responding to emergencies and serving neighborhoods.

Magnus said the proposal, which will be reviewed by city council, should be completed by the end of June. I.

In a news conference Wednesday at police headquarters, Magnus spoke about his plan to save the city $14.5 million by mid-2017. He said it has the support of City Manager Michael Ortega, who asked all city departments for plans to cut costs.

The budget cuts will be fulfilled through attrition in sworn officers, not filling the vacancies of the authorized positions and a reduction in special assignment pay.

However, Magnus said he has asked Ortega for $7 million from the savings for department needs, including new uniforms, patrol cars, cell phones and training for officers. Magnus said Ortega was supportive of the “rebate.”

The city’s deficit for fiscal year 2017 is expected to be $25.6 million.

Under the plan, Magnus sees officers working in four divisions across the city. He proposes to eliminate the downtown division. The area it covered would be absorbed by Operations Division West.

If this plan is finalized, the boundaries for Operations Division West would be from River Road to roughly 22nd Street, and from Campbell to Starr Pass and Anklam Road. The boundaries to the remaining three divisions should remain the same.

Sgt. Roland Gutierrez, president of the Tucson Police Officers Association, said the reorganization will create an atmosphere where it will be difficult to retain officers because of its cuts in special assignments, which offer higher pay. He also worries about the safety of police with trimming the department to 830 officers.

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The union said the “department cannot cut another single dollar” and city management must rebuild the department as soon as possible.

Magnus said the decisions to reduce personnel and reorganize were “not easy for any of us to make.” He said the reorganization “will make the department better and more effective.”

Magnus said the department has not been fully staffed at its authorized level of 992 sworn officers for many years. He said the city “can’t afford to properly equip, train and supervise” that level of officers. He proposes the department be staffed at 830 sworn officers, which is a level the city can support.

Currently, the department has 880 officers, and there are about 373 on patrol, according to department data.

He said once the city gets into a solid, economic situation he plans on rebuilding the department and eventually bring it to levels of more than 900 sworn officers.

The proposal has some officers in special assignments returning to patrol.

Officers and detectives in certain units would return to the divisions and work closely with patrol squads to solve cases and also work crime prevention measures.

About 70 officers would return to the divisions, some going back to patrol.

He said the downtown area would not be overlooked as his plan calls for creating a smaller downtown business district that would be patrolled primarily by officers on foot and on bicycles.