Before recent budget cuts, if a Sacramento patrol officer stopped someone at night who fit the description of an armed robbery suspect, the officer would alert an on-call detective who would come down to interview the suspect.
That was then. This is now.
Now, to save $15.9 million that Sacramento's mayor and City Council have decreed must be squeezed out of the Police Department to balance the city's budget, the department has severely restricted after-hour call-outs of detectives. That means patrol officers have to conduct deeper, more investigative-type questioning themselves.
Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel will outline for the City Council tonight a number of similar adjustments his department has made to meet the demands of a shrinking budget. The cuts will be deeper than previously contemplated. At the last minute, 14 department employees opted not to participate in the city's voluntary separation program. That left police $3.6 million short of their cut target.
Chief Braziel has also had to eliminate overtime for narcotics, gang and vice investigations. He has closed public counters at two neighborhood police stations and eliminated overtime at the 911 Center. He has furloughed non-career reserve officers. With reserve officers no longer available, patrol officers will have to take on such duties as transporting prisoners, leaving fewer cops on the street.
Braziel says department reductions have been designed so that public safety will take priority over public convenience and to avoid police layoffs. But the reductions will surely be felt.
The council and the public should brace themselves. The police cuts had been public for only a couple of days when city budget officials announced mandatory furloughs one day per month for one-fifth of the city's emnployees (including police managers), beginning in January. If the economy continues to deteriorate, even more cuts may be needed. For the council and the next mayor, the hard stuff may only be beginning.
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