Almaden Resident
News
Understaffed police department has not kept up with city growth
By Eli Segall
San Jose is a growing city, with more people, more high-rises, more parks and more schools. What hasn't grown is its police department.
The city's population, close to the million mark, has grown by 100,000 since 1998, but in that time the police force has only increased by three sworn officers. The traffic enforcement unit--which did increase but was later cut--is now at the same level it was 20 years ago. There are just four burglary detectives to cover the sprawling city, a sharp decrease from the burglary specialists unit in the early 1980s.
Chief Robert Davis highlighted his department's shortages at a city budget study session on Nov. 28. The meeting was held by the San Jose City Council in preparation for next March's budget negotiations.
"We've stretched the rubber band as far as it can go, and it's beginning to snap," Davis said. "We're losing our ability to be a proactive, preventative police department."
To plug the department's personnel gaps, Davis requested an increase of nearly 600 beat cops, specialists and administrative workers over a five-year period, between 2007 to 2012.
Almaden Valley resident Tony Lee, who heard about the police chief's safety request after the meeting, said he feels quite safe in his neighborhood.
Lee said. "San Jose is one of the safest cities in the countrywell, at least in Almaden it is."
Last year, San Jose had 1,346 sworn officers, an average of 1.48 per 1,000 residents, the lowest average in the country for a city of its size. San Jose, crowned America's Safest Big City for 2005 in a study based on FBI crime data, had the second lowest number of crimes for its population range.
But no neighborhood is crime-free, Davis said. The city experienced a 19 percent spike in robberies and a 34 percent jump in car thefts from last year.
Council members expressed support for Davis' request, but some questioned how it could be funded.
"The rubber band is stretched for all city departments," said San Jose City Manager Les White. "Council might have to go to the voters to help fund this."
