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>> >>PEGGY: THE DEBATE OVER SAN DIEGO'S POLICE DEPARTMENT'S REQUEST FOR AN ADDITIONAL $66ÊMILLION
OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS CENTERS AROUND STAFFING ISSUES AND WHETHER OR NOT A SHORT TERM SURGE
IN VIOLENT CRIMES WARRANTS THE BUDGET INCREASE. JOINING ME IS SAN DIEGO POLICE CHIEF WILLIAM
LANDSDOWNE AND ASSISTANT CHIEF SHELLEY ZIMMERMAN. THANK YOU BOTH FOR BEING HERE.
CHIEF LANDSDOWNE, 11 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS ANNUALLY AND ANOTHER
EIGHT MILLION ON TOP OF THAT TO DEAL WITH SOME EQUIPMENT DISPATCH SYSTEMS.
WHY SO MUCH MONEY RIGHT NOW AND YEAH, THAT'S THE BIG QUEST.
>> >>WILLIAM LANDSDOWNE: OUR ROLE IN THE SAN DIEGO POLICE DIS PARTMENT IS PROVIDE THE BEST
SERVICE POSSIBLE TO THE COMMUNITY OF SAN DIEGO. THOSE DEMANDS, THE COMPLEXITY IS INCREASING
ALL THE TIME. WE CLEARLY HAVE BEEN DOWN SIZING THE POLICE
DEPARTMENT FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW, AND AS WE LOOK INTO THE FUTURE AND THE NEEDS WE NEED
TO START TODAY, AND I'LL GIVE YOU A GREAT EXAMPLE.
IF WE HIRE AD HUNDRED OFFICERS TODAY TO REPLACE JUST THE PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING TO LEAVE THE
DEPARTMENT THIS YEAR, IT TAKES AWS YEAR BEFORE THEY ACTUALLY COME OUT ON THE STREETS.
SO WE'RE ALWAYS A YEAR BEHIND THE NEEDS ITSELF. THE SOONER WE ADDRESS THESE PROBLEMS THE SOONER
WE'RE TO BE EFFECTIVE IN PROVIDING THE SERVICE. >> >>PEGGY: LET'S TALK ABOUT THE ISSUES AND
CHIEF ZIMMERMAN, LET ME ASK YOU; THE CRIME TRENDS JANUARY THROUGH MAY, FIVE MONTHS WE'RE
UP BY 12%. BUT OVERALL CRIME TRENDS HERE IN SAN DIEGO
AND IN THE UNITED STATES HAVE BEEN LOW, ALL TIME LOW SO PEOPLE ARE WONDERING ISN'T THIS
AN OVER REACTION, EARLY REACTION TO 5 MONTHS OF CRIME.
>> >>SHELLEY ZIMMERMAN: IT'S NOT AN EARLY REACTION.
IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO RECOGNIZE EXACTLY WHAT YOU SAID. THE CRIME TRENDS.
WE LOOK AT RATES ON A DAILY BASIS, SOMETIMES HOURLY, TAKE A LOOK AT PRIORITY CALLS AND
WITH FEWER PEOPLE TO RESPOND TO THIS INCREASE IN CRIME.
WHAT WE PREFER TO DO IS PREVENT IT BEFORE IT HAPPENS.
IT'S IMPORTANT FOR TUS LOOK AT THE CRIME RATE, THE TRENDS IF IT'S FIVE MONTHS OR A DAY OR
AN HOUR. >> >>PEGGY: WE'RE GOING TO COME BACK TO THE
STAFFING, BUT I HAVE TO ASK YOU, ONE OF THE CRITICISMS IN THE MEDIA HAS BEEN YOU'RE CAPITALIZING
ON THIS SHORT TERM SURGE IN VIOLENT CRIMES TO GET MORE MONEY WHAT'S YOUR RESPONSE TO
THAT? >> >>WILLIAM LANDSDOWNE: WE'RE PROVIDING REAL
TIME INFORMATION FOR THE COUNCIL TO MAKE THE DECISION TO HELP THEM MAKE THAT DECISION,
AND IT IS VERY CLEAR THAT THEY DIDN'T READ THE REPORT WELL.
THIS IS ABOUT STAFFING, AND NUTRITION. THIS IS ABOUT THE SERVICE LEVELS WE PROVIDE
AND IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT THE POLICE OFFICERS, BUT IT'S ABOUT THE COMMUNICATION STAFF WHICH
IS MY MOST DIFFICULT HIRE. IT'S THE CRIME LAB AND ALL THE PEOPLE THAT
WORK EVERY SINGLE DAY TO PROVIDE THE BEST LEVEL SERVICE POSSIBLE.
YOU'RE FOCUSING ON CRIME, YOU'RE MISS TG THE POINT OF THE REPORT.
>> >>PEGGY: LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT, STAFFING, 270, I UNDERSTAND BETWEEN 260, 70 POLICE OFFICERS
THAT HAVE ACTUALLY LEFT. MANY OF THOSE DURING THE BUDGET PROBLEMS TWO
YEARS OF BUDGET PROBLEMS, BUT ON AVERAGE WHAT I READ WAS ABOUT 15 POLICE OFFICERS PER YEAR
ARE LEAVING. IS THAT UP USUAL? IS THAT AN UNUSUAL NUMBER?
>> >>SHELLEY ZIMMERMAN: THE 270 OFFICERS THAT LEFT IN THE LAST 10 YEARS THAT WAS A CONSERVATIVE
NUMBER OF THOSE WHO LEFT TO OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES. WE HAVE A RECRUITMENT ISSUE, IT'S
EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE BECAUSE THERE'S SO MANY OTHER AGENCIES ESPECIALLY LOCALLY THAT ARE
HIRING RIGHT NOW. WE HAVE A RETENTION ISSUE BECAUSE THOSE ARE
THE OFFICERS THAT HAVE BEEN TRAINED BY OUR DEPARTMENT AND HAVE GONE LATERAL OR OTHER
POLICE DEPARTMENTS. THAT'S A CONSERVATIVE NUMBER.
>> >>PEGGY: HOW DOES THAT COMPARE BRIEFLY TO OTHER CITIES DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE THE SAME
SIZE AS SAN DIEGO. >> >>WILLIAM LANDSDOWNE: IF YOU LOOK AT OTHER
CITIES LIKE DALLAS OR PHILADELPHIA, OR SAN FRANCISCO WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT SMALLER, WE
HAVE ONE OF THE LOWEST STAFFING LEVELS IN THE COUNTRY FOR ANY LARGE CITY IN AMERICA.
I SIT ON MAJOR CITY CHIEF WHICH ARE THE 63 LARGEST CITIES.
WE ARE EFFICIENT, DO WELL, WE HAVE TO GET READY FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS. WHEN THOSE
TWO FIRES CAME ON, I NEEDED EVERY SINGLE OFFICER IN THE SAN DIEGO POLICE DEPARTMENT TO BE ABLE
TO MANAGE IT, BECAUSE THERE WERE NO OTHER RESOURCES.
EVERYBODY IN THE COUNTY WAS COMMITTED. >> >>PEGGY: SO STAFFING, CRIME RATES, VERY
BRIEFLY, WE ONLY HAVE ABOUT 30 SECONDS. DISPATCHING, THERE'S SOME EQUIPMENT ISSUES
YOU'RE REALLYÊ THE EIGHT MILLION FOR THAT, TELL US ABOUT WHAT'S NEEDED.
>> >>SHELLEY ZIMMERMAN: IT'S A 25 YEAR OLD STIS M THAT'S ON LANGUAGEÊ SOFTWARE LANGUAGE
TO CALL IN THE 1970S. OUR SYSTEM IS PRONE TO FAILURE.
JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO, WE HAD AN OFFICER CALLING FOR HELP AND THE DISPATCHER COULDN'T HEAR
THE OFFICER BECAUSE IT HAPPENED TO GO DOWN RIGHT AT THAT EXACT MOMENT AND IT IS PRONE
TO FAILURE AND THAT'S JUST ONE OF MANY EXAMPLES WHERE IT HAS GONE DOWN.
>> >>PEGGY: THESE ISSUES WILL BE ADDRESSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL COME SEPTEMBER.
>> >>WILLIAM LANDSDOWNE: THEY GET TO MAKE THE CHOICE, WE'VE GIVEN THEM REAL TIME CORRECT
INFORMATION TO HELP MAKE THE CHOICE. >> >>PEGGY: CHEIF LANDSDOWNE, CHIEF ZIMMERMAN,
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TALKING WITH US.