CHESAPEAKE
The city's police force doesn't have enough people, works in inadequate facilities and clears relatively few serious crimes, an independent review concluded.
Despite Chesapeake's extensive waterways, the Police Department has no marine unit, relying instead on irregular boat patrol. There is also no unit dedicated to emerging crimes, the report said, and lieutenants are left to coordinate police activities late at night and on weekends.
Still, the city has one of the lowest crime rates in the nation. The report's project manager, Carroll Buracker of Carroll Buracker & Associates, said the force was in the top 10 percent of the more than 200 the company has reviewed and among the most educated he had seen in the country.
Those are among the highlights of the 600-plus page report - commissioned in late March for $219,000 - that Buracker presented to the City Council on Tuesday afternoon.
Police Chief Kelvin Wright said the results did not surprise him. "It's a very candid, accurate report," he said. Wright took over the top job April 1, replacing Richard Justice.
City Manager William E. Harrell has called the review a blueprint for mapping out the next decade. He announced the city's plan to hire the consultant in January, shortly after a police detective was shot to death while serving a search warrant in January.
Harrell has said the report was needed prior to that, and the executive summary did not specifically address the case.
Chesapeake has the lowest ratio of officers per 1,000 residents of any city in Hampton Roads, the report said. It recommends increasing the number of sworn officers by 44 over the next two years to 425 and bringing the total department to 632.
Councilwoman Debbie Ritter said she has long been concerned with staffing levels.
"This isn't new information," she said. "I've been hearing this for years."
The report recommended creating an 11-member marine unit and a 23-member tactical team that would respond to incipient crimes such as burglaries and thefts.
"It's unusual not to have a tactical unit," said Buracker, a former police chief of Fairfax County.
He recommended moving 11 positions "out from behind a desk" and onto the streets.
The report also suggested that a precinct captain always be on duty, a change from the lieutenants now left in charge late at night and on weekends.
The clearance rate for crimes in Chesapeake - defined as identifying a suspect and securing a warrant - is around 16 percent, the report said. The average for comparable cities is about 18 percent.
Wright called Chesapeake's rate unacceptable and said he would redirect resources wherever possible to help clear crimes.
Police should respond to high-priority calls such as armed robberies and fights in progress within five minutes 80 percent of the time, the report said.
It recommended increasing minimum staffing requirements in several areas - from two to six officers on midnight shifts in Western Branch and Greenbrier, for example - and focusing less on traffic citations.
The report also called police facilities inadequate - including the current public safety building that houses the administration of the police and fire departments.
"The entire issue of facilities does not seem to have been a priority in the past," the report said.
Buracker called the training academy building "one of the worst I've observed" - old, cramped and prone to flooding.
The report praised the department for steps taken so far to combat crime in South Norfolk, the city's busiest precinct and home to several high-profile killings, including that of the police detective.
The city should upgrade lighting there, use closed-
circuit, real-time television cameras in public areas and hire a full-time crime prevention officer, the report said.
The chief has already enacted some of the report's other suggestions, such as hiring a full-time recruiter and reducing the amount of overtime.
Harrell said that as work begins in October on next year's budget, he and city staff would look into staffing and facility recommendations.
A copy of the report is available online at the police department's Web site.
Staff writer Mike Saewitz contributed to this report.
Kristin Davis, (757) 222-5208, kristin.davis@pilotonline.com
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79 pages of report available now
The executive summary is available at http://www.cityofchesapeake.net/services/depart/police/police/index.shtml I have heard all will be available as the city gets the info uploaded.
Greenbrier
IQ and Bruce - I did not say there is no crime in Greenbrier. I did suggest that people having bad experiences may have had the bad luck of ending up on a derelict st.(I'm sure there are actually a few) That does not make the entire area a pit of dispair-the post is still up if you would like to read it again for clarity. I am not up @ 2:00 am watching drug dealers, I work for a living. I do know all of my neighbors and their children and they are not out in the street @ 2:00 am dealing drugs. I hope you would take the time to meet the people around you - chatting with mom and day and waving hi to the troubled teen may encourage the idiot to move his trade down the street. I assure you the police would be happy to chat with them - especially at that time in the morning - have you called the police when you are awake at 2:00 am watching these events take place? You both sound very angy, maybe you should get more involved in your neighborhood or move to Portsmouth or Norfolk, I hear they are real safe.
I agree with Brucek
The person who thinks Greenbrier is clean and crime free must not be seeing things as they really are. If she's [I assume patriciag is a she]ever been to the foodmart at Riverbirch and Eden Way all she needs to do is pay attention [this same store's been robbed multiple times and the last owner died at the hands of a 17 year old!]. And all those miles of sidewalks through the neighborhoods --- really convenient for meeting up and buying drugs - day or night. Get up in the middle of the night and look out a window....see who hangs out after midnight. And look at all the trash left on the streets between midnight and 6 am. It didn't just fall out of the sky - it was thrown there by those who need to visit fast food places after midnight but just can't seem to take their trash in the house. The traffic [mostly non-residents]cutting through on Eden Way chuck trash out on that main road on a continual basis. Lovely
Best consultants are the police managers.
Unreal, neighboring cities have also wasted money on a Carol Burracker study, he comes from Fairfax where the cost of initiatives isn't any concern. Recommends an 11 man marine unit? Give me a break, based on what? Miles of waterways? What are concerns or calls for service on the waterways? Wow! with that mentality I'm sure he recommended a 75 man traffic unit based on the miles of roadways. Next time keep your money and ask the police rank and file and managers, they can tell you what the real needs are in response to calls for service, and the needs of the department and community. $200K equals at least 4 police officers for one year!
Doc, you miss the point
The review was not in response to the murder of det. Shivers. That is simply when the decision as to who would be conducting the review was made. The City an Department had already asked for an impartial review to determine if the department needed improvement, and if so, where.
Nope, I didn't hear the review
It was held with almost no notice on a work day, so it was impossible to reschedule in time to be there.
So far, the bond hearing for Ryan Frederick was rescheduled with no notice, the preliminary hearing was moved to a different courtroom with no notice and now the review, which was announced in January by the police chief in response to criticism of police procedures in that case, whether it was planned before or not, was presented with no notice to the public.
I want very much to believe the police have nothing to hide, but in the words of Auric Goldfinger, "Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action."
The public's business should be conducted in full daylight, and I don't see that happening here.
To the person in Greenbrier.
For the person living in Greenbrier, you must be living under a rock somewhere if you haven’t noticed the encroachment of crime and drugs in the Greenbrier area.
In addition to that, the Greenbrier P.O.A. is about to turn out the lights in the common areas it maintains due to lack of funds.
So talk to me after the lights go out and the crime does reach you.
Doc, you are wrong again
The shooting did not "trigger the review," it had already been put out for bid prior to the shooting. Get your facts straight before you spout off at the mouth! As for the department being short staffed, duh! Also no surprise that overtime would be reduced if fully staffed. I too would like to see the full report and hope we don't have to wait the 60 days the manager gave council to review the report (channel 48). I did listen to the consultant advise there should be a crime prevention officer at every precint and the 6th precinct(Hickory) should be put on hold.
Dr. Tabor
With all due respect, this review was not conducted because of Detective Shivers' death. It has been reported time and time again that this review was long ordered before that tragedy occurred. And if you saw the head of the review speak, he said that he saw nothing wrong with the way the search warrant, etc was conducted that night. You are so eager to find a conspiracy here, when in fact there is none.
short handed?
Hmmmm..maybe thats why I never see a cop in Greenbrier when people run red lights at every intersection I go through, or the the streets look like a Indy 500 race. Why have laws if they are not enforced?
Where is the full report?
I went to the City of Chesapeake dot net web site to read the report, but it isn't there. Seems like that would be a good place for it, or a link to a PDF.
I don't know how much was reported to the Pilot and other news outlets, perhaps they have it and could make it available?
So far, it only seems to say that more money is needed, but I see nothing in the article relating to procedures and policies on informants, criteria for choosing how to serve search warrants or any of the other unanswered questions surrounding the death of Det. Jarrod Shivers which triggered the review, which had not been deemed necessary before.
Greenbrier
Where do you people live in Greenbrier? I have been here for twenty years and it is a clean, safe area. No drug deals on the street! Good schools, responsible neighbors, well kept neighborhoods, nice shopping areas. You must have had the bad luck of ending up on the one derelict street in a 5 sq miles. Although every place has some crime; I think Chesapeake, especially the Greenbrier area, is one of the safer areas in Hampton Roads. And, the police officers I have met are also the most personable and professional in the area (they also look to be in better physical shape than the other cities)! I would much rather pay for a larger police force than additional city services for all the new neighborhoods City Council continues to approve that we DON'T need.
PAY!
Short staffed? How about taking a big look at what makes people seek employment. I would tend to think most people look at the compensation for the services rendered and with the touchy feely PC world of BS I am sure most police officers have to deal with I am sure it is the main reason they are understaffed. Would the City of Chesapeake like to see an abundance of qualified applicants for Police Officer? Make the starting salary a livable one would be step one.
This isn't news
Every PD in the country is understaffed, this isn't news. The Ryan case is a showcase for the incompetence of the department. Why don't you tell us the truth about that instead of the fantasy that the officers dreamed up?
I wonder
I have the utmost respect for the job the police have to do. Many people who complain don't have a clue how to improve or what it is really like.
That being said there is always room for improvement and I would really like to see the truth behind the Ryan case.
Quoting the article:
"Police should respond to high-priority calls such as armed robberies and fights in progress within five minutes 80 percent of the time, the report said."
What is going to to happen to my family in the five minutes or more it takes for a police officer to arrive? That is a long time when faced with a home invasion or similar circumstance.
one word....WOW
Once again I have been amazed at how monies are spent and what they are spent on. $219,000 for someone to tell you information you already knew. The citizens of Ches should have someones head on a platter for just throwing money down the drain. 11 person marine unit??? You have got to be kidding?!?!? The funny thing is that someone RIGHT NOW is pricing a boat. Imagine what items could have been purchased with that money. Heck, it could have gone straight to the men and women who are helping keep Ches one of the safest cities by way of a bonus in their already slim direct deposit this Friday. Good luck!
ok, then mzzzzz ritter
"This isn't new information," she said. "I've been hearing this for years." Then why did you approve the $216,000.00 report?
219k?
Not bad really. Had to toss in a few k extra kickback money. Spread it around from the top dog to the city council. You can pretty much count on whoever was needed to approve this study got paid.
Citizens of Chesapeake.....
have been saying for years the police are understaffed and underpaid. It's inconceivable WE paid $219K for this report. I'm happy to see it's been recommended Greenbrier have more officers on duty especially during the hours when those in the habit of being out all night doing their thing are out all night doing their thing. Greenbrier has long been under patrolled. Look at all the businesses/stores in the entire area available for B&E's and shoplifting. I don't even need to mention the vast areas not patrolled at all available and used daily/nightly for drug deals RIGHT OUT IN THE OPEN and those doing it don't care who sees them because they know they won't get caught. And I know speeders and red light runners might not be in the category of criminal activity but if there were more officers more of these brilliant drivers might get their invitation to court to tell a judge why they act like idio
Talk to me!!!
I have had drugs in my Greenbrier neighborhood for the last year. I called the police talked to detectives and done everything I could to get it taken care of. I have called the police 5 times in the last two weeks to try and the teenage kid two doors down arrested for dealing drugs. Finally after a year of literally putting my life on the line they got him for simple possession.
They could have saved 219K and just talked to me.
just a thought
I was bombarded with mail and people at my door doing census for the Chesapeake Public Schools. Just a thought, why not do this about what the citizens think would improve the police department and the city? You can say your going to hire a recruiter but that means nothing but someone to go around and hand out flyers to colleges. You want change ask the people not the ones in the desk's
Same old story
The powers to be want the police to do more with less. I think the past and current city councils have finally run the well dry. A blue print for the next 10 years? I hope the manager stands by his words.
Dr. Tabor, I am sure the report will be make public in due time.
City Manager William E. Harrell
I'm trying to get a handle on this, you mean you spent 219,000.00 dollars for someone to tell you buy a boat, hire 40 more cops, get out from behind the desk, and spend more time solving crimes. PRICELESS!!!
Oh but wait it was a 600 page report costing 219,000.00 dollars. That's 365.00 per page, surely it said more than that. Please tell me it said more than that.
This says nothing
I'd have to see the full report before I can really comment on anything. I find it vague (not surprising considering it was condensed from 600 pages). Chesapeake's staffing is low, but considering the low crime rate compared to other cities, that doesn't mean a thing to me. Tell me numbers, tell me percentages of risk, for example, "based on the staffing ratio and the rate of crime, the odds of [fill in the blank] are "x". Or, "based on poor training facilities, the odds of poor performance from police recruits is "x". "Police should respond to high-priority calls such as armed robberies and fights in progress within five minutes 80 percent of the time". What are the exact numbers? All it says is to increase mimimum staffing requirements in several areas. Finally, I think citizens are really looking for a report on police procedures: Are they too exreme? Are they being followed? This report i
Wondering
I wonder what qualifications one needs to be a "consultant?"
I think I could do this. besides, I have pointed this out for free more than once. Wouldn't 200K hire 4-5 more police?
Yea, but their great at
Yea, but their great at incompetence.
What about the Frederick Case?
New Chief: "Accurate and candid report"
City Manager: Paid $213,000. for the "accurate report"??
Priceless: No mention of the Ryan Frederick debacle.
Result: They paid for what they wanted the council to hear and not show any guilt other than gross mismanagement.
Action taken: We shall see.
Sidebar Joke: An 11 member Marine unit? The Fire Dept. already has a fire boat they never use, and the State Va. Marine resources is issueing plenty of littering and trespassing tickets at the Cove for a private owner.
No surprise's???
Let me make sure I understand this....the city paid approx. 200K for a report from an outside agency for information that the city manager and police chief already knew?
Dr. Tabor,
This is an easy one – the report is being shared with the City Attorney (same guy who is withholding the full report about the “fly ash” problem) so that he can give the City Council a(nother) heads-up about any potential law suits. That would also explain the short notice, and the “convenient” work session – key people are “distracted.”
In confusion there is profit…
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This should be a very lengthy report !!