Misleading

Sometimes you've got to wonder whether or not the Albuquerque Journal is handling public relations for APD's 5th Floor. Today's little timely story about APD response times comes just three days before Chief Ray Schultz faces an APOA no confidence vote. More disturbing is that this little piece of journalism leaves readers with the wrong idea.

Police have been getting to your door faster — but Police Chief Ray Schultz has been getting heat for that.

Schultz changed the work schedules for most officers in April, assigning them to work five days a week instead of four 10-hour days. The main reason, he said, was to improve response times.

As a result, officers have been vocal in opposition of the change, criticizing Schultz at staff meetings and on Internet blogs.

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

(Pray tell what "Internet blogs" could they mean?!)

The Journal's police beat reporter, T.J. Wilham, would have you believe that since officers have gone to the new 5 day a week - 8 hour a day schedule that they are arriving on your doorstep faster than they used to.

Since 2002, response times have increased. Last year, on average, it took APD 8.9 minutes to get to top priority calls. It took an average of 24.5 minutes for all calls combined.
Since the new schedule was started, APD has been averaging 7.8 minutes for top priority calls and 15.2 minutes for all calls.

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

What Wilham doesn't tell you is that these average response times are from the time an officer is dispatched to the time they arrive on-scene. It absolutely does not mean that an officer will arrive 7.8 minutes from the time you call for help.

APD dispatch is kind of like a triage unit. They prioritize calls based on how dangerous the situation is to the caller and whether or not a crime is in progress. Dispatch holds lower priority calls and dispatches to high priority calls first. The problem is dispatch only has so many officers to work with. As a result, even Priority 1 calls stack waiting for officers to clear.

"Folks when I started this job [2]7 years ago, we were stacking calls. When Joe Bowdich started his job they were stacking calls. Who cares? Who cares if calls are waiting? I don't care if calls are holding."

- Chief Ray Schultz, September 12, 2008 Citywide Briefing

As you can tell, Chief Schultz isn't overly concerned about waiting calls - just how long it takes from dispatch to arrival. Sure those numbers are important, but they're just part of the picture.

Our Eyes behind the badge tell us that the primary reason that the average dispatch time has been reduced is because the 5-8 schedule allowed Ray and Company to staff a 6th Area Command. That 1.1 minute reduction in "response time" is primarily due to geography. Officers simply don't have as far to go to reach their destinations.

You're probably thinking that the move to 5-8s could be considered a success - it isn't. Marty and Ray simply exchanged officer fatigue and morale for a minimal gain in response times that may have nothing to do with the schedule changes.

The move to 5-8s was a desperate move to conceal the fact that APD is understaffed - a situation that despite new contracts and advertising campaigns, The Almighty Alcalde and the 5th Floor have failed to rectify. The fact is calls are still stacking and people needing help are still in danger despite the Journal's misleading story and despite the Chief's misleading numbers.

----- Correction -----
We originally indicated that the move to 5-8s was to allow the staffing of a 5th area command. Ooops! We meant 6th area command. It has been corrected above.

5-8's Equal 24-7 - APD 10-7

It's been APD all the time this week. We promise once the foolishness stops we'll move on to other pressing concerns. But until then we'll be busy telling you about the almost non-stop stupidity flowing from the 5th and the 11th floors.

This could have been one of the worst weeks for APD and The Almighty Alcalde. From divisive contracts to potential felonious corruption the 5th floor seems to be in a complete meltdown. If all of this weren't enough the brain trust decided it was time to change the basic operational structure of the entire department.

Chief Schultz announced Thursday through the Journal's T.J. Wilham that the new bid and operational model for APD will be for 5-8s (ABQ Journal - Subscription). For the uninitiated that means that officers will work 5 days a week for 8 hours a shift. Currently, officers work 4 days a week for 10 hours per shift. The reason given for the unprecedented change - response times. We'll get back to that concept later.

Our Eyes tell us that the real reason behind the move is the Almighty Alcalde's desire to open a sixth area command on the northwest side of town. Now, we don't disagree that Albuquerque needs more officers and even more area commands, but this administration's perception over reality approach has made our city one of the more dangerous places in the country to live even if Chief Schultz feels safe.

Let's take a look at the current 4-10 shift schedule. In addition to picking up bad guys forty hours a week, officers have additional responsibilities that neither they nor their superiors have control over most of which have to do with the less than optional obligation of appearing in court. At present the 4 day 40 hour work week doesn't mean that officers have a full three days off, it means that if their days off happen to be during the Monday through Friday work week they'll more than likely end up in court on their day off.

Typically court won't last a full eight hours and sometimes they won't be scheduled with any court obligations - whether those are court appearances or pre-trial hearings. However, most officers are lucky to get one full day off a week once their non-shift obligations are taken into consideration.

We believe adding an 8 hour shift and reducing four of the other shifts by two hours will not only create a situation where there are fewer officers on the street, but will end up making law enforcement a 24-7 endeavor where officers are either on the street or in court. In addition to the unwieldy burden placed on officers and their families, we also must consider the effect of fatigue on an officer's judgment. Poor judgment results in poor decisions. Poor decision making results in offenders going free and endangering the public in ways that we don't even want to contemplate.

Let's get back to "poor response times." Right now we live in a dangerous city, poor response times are a result of a lack of officers on the street, high crime and we believe poor policies instituted by the 5th floor and the Chavez administration. Chief Schultz's 5-8 scheme stretches an already insufficient force over an increasingly large area. What it doesn't appear to do is reduce response times or reduce crime. After all, the same number of officers will be working the same number of hours. Do we really improve the quality of law enforcement by stretching them to their limits, spreading them over an increasing large area, and wrecking their family lives?

In just a week APD has managed to divide the rank and file against itself, and get rid of one of the most attractive benefits that APD provides its officers - the 4-10 work week that really means maybe a full 24 hours off. We've got to admit, that's quite an accomplishment if your goal is to wreck an already struggling department.

Chief Schultz and crew aided and abetted by the APOA have designed a contract that encourages senior officers to retire or leave APD for better opportunities. The change in operational structure to 5-8s will further encourage senior officers to leave and/or retire early - a situation that neither makes us safer nor helps APD reach its arbitrary goal of 1,100 officers.

(Sidebar)
We're already hearing rumors of a "blue flu" and of increasing officer retiring by July 1st. Our Eyes tell us that the intrepid brain trust of the 5th floor plans to keep all of the departing officers on the roster as long as possible in order to minimize the appearance of force degradation. In other words, the plan is to lie to the general public - not exactly new when it comes to APD and numbers.
(End Sidebar)

In the end all that will be accomplished is more officers leaving the department, deteriorating morale, and an increasingly inexperienced police force. In the end APD will be 10-7 as an effective law enforcement agency.

Piling Up

Albuquerque's got a problem with property crime and violent crime; by now that has been well documented (ABQ Journal - Subscription). Less well known is Albuquerque's growing problem with white collar crime - you know embezzlement and identity theft.

This particular crime wave doesn't appear to be due to any outside influence, it's simply due to the fact that white collar crimes are piling up. Our Eyes tell us that there are somewhere close to 11,000 cases that are waiting to be fully investigated and only four detectives tasked with solving them.

Make no mistake we're not bashing the four hard-working individuals that are busy trying to shovel their way out of an avalanche of white collar cases, we pointing out that APD has made a priority of violent offenses. Maybe that's the right approach, but we doubt that someone who has had their identity stolen, their credit wrecked, and now find themselves in serious debt due to the unlawful use of their credit would agree.

The Eyes have it that if you are currently a victim of some white collar crime - like identity theft - you better hope you have a federal case, because there just aren't enough detectives assigned to clear the cases.

In our last post we were complaining about lowering standards for hiring officers and we certainly believe that APD is over specialized. However, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if you have 11,000 cases waiting to be solved four detectives won't cut it. The cases are piling up and those involved deserve better than having to wait for one of four detectives to get around to solving their case.

1,100 At Any Cost

Monday the Almighty One held a meeting in his office with the APD academy staff and APD's top brass. The subject was APD's seemingly impossible dream - 1,100 officers. The meeting was supposed to take place sometime last week but due to some mayoral obligation or the other it was moved to this week.

As you can imagine this wasn't a pleasant meeting for the contingent from the 5th floor. As we've told you right here, it doesn't seem to matter how much money they spend or how much time they spend turning over rocks APD can't recruit, rehire, or retain enough officers to meet Marty's mandate.

According to our well placed Eyes, His Honor pulled rank on the assembled crew and ordered them to reach 1,100 no matter how they have to do it or who they have to hire. At one point our Eyes tell us that the maddened mayor told his Chief of Police that he had ordered him to reach 1,100 officers and if the Chief couldn't obey his orders he'd find someone who could.

There's a lot to be concerned with here. If the mayor has truly mandated that APD will have 1,100 officers at any cost then he's sacrificing our safety on the altar of political expediency. APD should not be hiring just anyone to enforce our laws (even if it's some silly cell phone ban) as the integrity of the entire department rides behind the shield of each and every officer.

When even one officer engages in some kind of unscrupulous behavior, the whole department gets a black eye. (Can anyone say Matt Griffin?) It's impossible for the public to tell the good from the bad, especially since they both wear the same uniform. The result is a public that doesn't trust the police charged with protecting them.

We cannot afford to have anything less than the best qualified, best trained, hard-working, honest officers on our streets - and for the most part they are all of those things and often much more. Lowering standards and hiring just about anyone in order to reach some arbitrary number for the sole purpose of making the mayor look good at a press conference is dangerous and foolish.

(Sidebar)
Marty would be sure to miss that next news conference where the Chief is having to explain to the media and to the citizens of Albuquerque that one of these substandard officers just got caught doing some of the things they are hired to catch others doing.
(End Sidebar)

Yesterday's meeting exposes the very real problem that we have with our current city police structure - the Chief of Police is an at-will employee of the mayor. As a result, the Chief is and must be as political as the mayor's Chief of Staff or any of his directors. This type of political involvement would place just about anyone who is unfortunate enough to be chief in an untenable position - do they answer first to the law or to the mayor.

In light of Albuquerque's property crime problem, there's little doubt that we need 1,100 or more officers on the street. But, you can't get there by counting PSAs, officers on leave (often to sunny Iraq), civilian support staff, and reserve officers, which our Eyes tell us APD is doing now. More importantly, you shouldn't try to get to 1,100 by lowering APDs standards and allowing just anyone to become an officer.

We'd rather have 500 good officers than even 3,000 questionable ones. For a police department to be effective it must earn and maintain the trust of the public. APD is on the verge of losing that trust and achieving 1,100 at any cost would certainly push the department beyond the very fine line of public trust and tolerance.

900

No... it's not a new movie about the Persian invasion of Greece; it's the number of sworn officers that the Albuquerque Police Officers Association (APOA) claims are on the force at APD. That number doesn't mean that all of them are out there on the streets keeping us safe or even available to come to our aid should we be unfortunate enough to need their assistance.

MORE COPS MEAN LESS CRIME.
Crime is high in Albuquerque–ranked one of the most dangerous places
in the country according to the latest FBI statistics. And there's a very simple
reason—not enough cops. In city after city across our nation, when the size
of the force goes up, the rate of crime goes down. It’s that simple.

An FBI study says we need 1400 officers to secure our city properly—we
only have 900. On an average day there are only 75 cops on the street
protecting 550,000 citizens. At this capacity they can only respond to
priority 1 calls. That means no proactive force, no community outreach,
no neighborhood patrols.

Clearly we have a critical shortage of officers. And while our force is
the best trained in the state, their current base pay doesn’t come close to
reflecting that. So they are leaving for better paying, less dangerous
departments in other cities.

Above is the APOA ad as copied from newly created website fundapd.com. The APOA seems to be launching a campaign to increase the number of officers on the force and on the street. We're normally somewhat suspicious of organizations who advocate a position that clearly benefits their own bottom line. However, it's clear that crime is a serious problem in Albuquerque and it's also clear that we don't have enough officers to combat crime in our fair city, so it's hard to argue with a campaign that is clearly in the best interests of every man, woman, and child in Albuquerque.

Our Eyes tell us that the number of officers over at APD is in the low 800's. The APOA claims that the number is really 900. Regardless of the actual number one thing is sure, the number of sworn officers over at APD is not 1,033 - the number claimed by Deputy Chief Michael Castro and reported by the Northwestern.com - it's far fewer and wholly inadequate.

Top of the List - Again

It seems that New Mexico is becoming known for topping lists. Of course they're generally the type of lists that no one wants to be on in the first place; the only exception being the much ballyhooed best place to do business list from Forbes Magazine. According to today's Albuquerque Journal (Subscription), the Metro Area is one of the most dangerous in the country.

"According to the data, the metro area per capita ranks in the top 10 percent for violent crimes, which include murder, rape and robbery. And the metro area ranks in the top 13 percent for property crime, such as auto theft and burglaries."

- Albuquerque Journal (Subscription)

These latest stats didn't surprise us because we've been telling you for some time that APD is facing a manpower crisis; one that despite all of the money spent on recruiting, isn't going away. Just last week APD recruiters were up in Appleton, Wisconsin testing for new recruits.

"The Albuquerque Police Department is casting its net far and wide, looking to keep the rapidly expanding Southwestern city adequately staffed with law enforcement.

Now it's coming to northeastern Wisconsin.

Deputy Chief Michael Castro said the department has 1,033 officers and is looking to hire another 67 by the end of the year."

- thenorthwestern.com

Folks, that is what you call spin. It's true Albuquerque is a rapidly growing city with our population now said to be over 800,000, but growth isn't the only reason our police department is lagging behind. APD seems incapable of closing the gap between the number of sworn officers we have and the number we should have.

Back in May, the Journal ran an article that claimed the department had grown nearly 12% since 2002 and that the number of officers over at APD was 998 (Subscription). Our Eyes took issue with the 998 number and informed us that the number was really closer to 800 (read it here). Now Deputy Chief Michael Castro tells thenorthwestern.com that APD has "1,033 officers and is looking to hire another 67 by the end of the year."

Again our Eyes are taking issue with the numbers being given to the press claiming that the number of sworn officers over at APD is somewhere between 814 and 828. In addition, the Eyes have it that day shift officers are being ordered not to go to court because manpower levels are so low that they need them on the street rather than in court. Just guess what happens when an officer doesn't make it to court.

APD has repeatedly refused to provide a list of sworn and non-sworn personnel and their departmental assignments; even to city councilors. As a result, it's almost impossible to verify their force strength numbers. When you consider the fact that the Almighty Marty, Chief Schultz, and the rest of the 5th floor have developed a reputation for cookin' the books, it's hard to believe any statistics without supporting documentation.

The fact of the matter is APD doesn't have enough sworn officers on the force and on the streets. You don't need to look any deeper that today's Journal article to find proof of that fact. Out of 349 metropolitan areas - 43rd in murder, 51st in rape, 74th in robbery, 32nd in aggravated assaults, 58th in burglaries, 95th in larcenies, and where we really excel - 17th in auto theft.

Chief Schultz's reaction, "I feel safe." Let's see here... he carries a gun, a badge, and a radio; and oh yeah, he's the CHIEF OF POLICE! Even more annoying, infuriating and just plain funny is that he blames Albuquerque's poor ranking on us!

"Schultz said the FBI statistics are misleading because Albuquerque residents tend to report crime more often than residents from other cities.

"This is not a dangerous place," Schultz said. "This is a place in which people take crime very seriously and will report it when it occurs.'"

- The Albuquerque Journal (Subscription)

What?! We're talking about violent crime here. Chief Schultz can't seriously expect us to believe that violent crimes go unreported in other cities and that somehow our poor showing is the result of over-reporting violent crime. We're not sure what's more frightening, the crime statistics or a Chief that would actually expect us to believe that the FBI numbers are somehow inflated because of us.

Remember folks, it's all up to you. The next time your stabbed, raped, assaulted, burgled, or come across a dead body... whatever you do don't, call the police to report it or Albuquerque will continue to be a dangerous place to live.