An officer shortage at the Cincinnati Police Department is expected to get worse over the next couple of years. Chief Eliot Isaac told the Budget and Finance Committee Tuesday that there are currently 990 sworn officers.
"We expect to fall to about 938 by the time the class graduates in March of '22," Isaac said. "If this class is 50, that will still put us about 71 officers below our authorized complement."
Isaac says 66 officers left the department last year, the most of any year since they started keeping track. Almost 19% of sworn officers have at least 25 years of service, and they don't expect retirements to slow down.
Overtime to cover the gaps has strained this year's budget. Isaac says a grant will cover the cost of the next two recruit classes.
Isaac wants to hire two new positions to help deal with a significant backlog in body-worn camera video review. Isaac told a City Council committee Tuesday the team that works with the court system to process the videos can't keep up.
"It has created significant difficulties in prosecuting these cases and being able to provide records and evidence in a timely fashion," Isaac said.
Isaac says the body camera program produces about 6,000 hours of footage every month. He hopes the next city budget includes funds for two new civilian positions on the body camera team.
Council is just beginning the months-long discussion about the budget for next fiscal year, which must be adopted by the end of June.
Read the full budget presentation below:
Feb. 16, 2021 Police Budget Presentation by WVXU News on Scribd
