Twenty Cincinnati police officers are being moved from current assignments and reallocated to patrol.
Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge announced the decision this week in a City Council committee meeting, saying the move is tough but necessary to address an officer shortage.
"I don't want to say this was phase one or round one of reallocating, but we have to be mindful as we attrit officers out that some of those leaving will come from patrol, some will come from preferred assignments," Theetge said. "We will continually look to make sure we're maintaining a correct balance between the two."
CPD is operating with about a hundred officers fewer than what is budgeted. A lack of patrol officers in particular has caused the department’s overtime budget to spike over the last few years.
Theetge had promised to look at reallocating personnel when she first accepted thepermanent police chief position late last year.
The 20 officers come from various other assignments, including the Criminal Investigations Section, a K-9 Unit, and liaison officers that focus on specific populations like immigrants or the LGBTQ community.
"They will still focus on those individuals that need police services ... they just have been decentralized," Theetge told WVXU. "They're a body that can answer calls for service. They're also a body that will continue to be liaisons between the police and groups of individuals."
Theetge says the department plans to retain another 20 patrol officers over the next year by reducing the number of new sergeants as the current ones retire. In other words, as current sergeants retire, they will not be replaced via promotion. Theetge says CPD has notified the FOP about the decision.
The city hasn't been able to keep up with attrition, mostly due to retiring officers.
The department is budgeted for 1,059 sworn officers and currently has 957. Unless something significant changes, CPD estimates there will be fewer than 900 officers in 2029, even if there's a recruit class of 60 new officers every year between now and then.
Even then, Cincinnati would have more officers per 100,000 residents compared to neighboring cities like Dayton, Columbus and Indianapolis, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
RELATED: Why these cadets want to become a Cincinnati Police officer
Last year, City Council approved an increase in hourly pay for police recruits (from $19.18 to $25) and a signing bonus.
A recruit class that was approved for 50+ new officers graduated in February — the class started with 33 people and only 31 graduated. Another class is set to begin in May. The final number of people approved to join is expected to be available Friday.
