Robberies. Assaults. Hate crimes.
It’s been a busy quarter for Evanston Police Department.
Police responded to the recent attacks and robberies in Evanston with increased patrols and a joint task force with Northwestern’s University Police. But EPD is fighting crime with fewer officers than the agency is budgeted for.
“We’re running pretty thin,” said Chief Frank Kaminski of EPD. “We try to manage day to day by shifting resources to make it work.”
At Evanston City Council’s Administration and Public Works meeting Nov. 10, Ald. Ann Rainey (8th) said EPD has 14 fewer officers than allotted. Upset because “people are getting robbed in the streets,” she called on police to tell City Council how it planned to fill the spots.
But Kaminski said the department only needs to fill two vacancies for a full roster of officers. The number of “useable, healthy bodies” on the force fluctuates daily depending on retirements, injuries and illnesses. Nine people are in the police academy, but they can’t be tapped until their field training is complete.
“If we’re down 17 positions, it’s really tough,” Kaminski said. “It affects overtime. We’re pulling officers from specialty units to make sure patrol units are staffed.”
Kaminski said officers’ promotions have been delayed because EPD can’t take them out of the force on the street.
Although EPD is budgeted at 161 officers, that number may not reflect optimum staff levels, said Alexander Weiss, Director of NU’s Center for Public Safety. But Evanston isn’t the only city in the country feeling the effects of police vacancies. Departments nationwide are struggling to fill positions because people are less interested in police work.
“Normally, if you reduce the staff, you reduce response time,” said Weiss, a professor at Kellogg School of Management. “Departments don’t get the turnout that they did 10 years ago. Agencies don’t get enough qualified people.”
In May, Chicago Police Department had 169 detective vacancies, which is 16 percent of the force, spokesman David Bayless said. About 110 people were enrolled in the department’s police academy and the number of vacancies has been halved.
Unlike other big police departments, Chicago’s budget has not been cut and the city is able to maintain the number of officers.
Ald. Gene Feldman (9th), who also is on the Administration and Public Works committee, said although having police at full capacity is an “ideal rarely achieved,” he wants EPD to fill the vacancies as soon as possible.
“If I thought the safety of the citizens of Evanston was permanently compromised, I’d see if we could increase the number of police hires,” Feldman said.
Kaminski said he was unsure if vacancies can be linked to the rash of attacks on students and residents or the quality of EPD’s service.
“I don’t know if it impacts crime,” said Kaminski. “But I’d like to have 161 people on a day-to-day basis.”
