BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- The first one-officer patrol cars rolled out of the police department’s Central District station Wednesday as Buffalo entered the ranks of cities nationwide moving away from partnering officers.
The single-officer cars will allow Buffalo to reduce the number of police officers by about 200 through retirements over the next four years for savings of between $11 million and $13 million, city officials said.
The switch comes after years of resistance from the police union, which argued officer safety was at risk. The single-officer patrols were part of a collective-bargaining agreement reached in March.
“We’ve been preparing for one-officer cars for several years,” Police Commissioner Rocco Diina said Tuesday. “The majority of America now patrols like this.”
The one-officer cars are being phased in throughout the city over the next six months.
“What you’re going to miss is the extra set of eyes in the car, to keep you out of accidents and other situations,” Officer Lou Ruberto, who has had a partner for 17 years, told The Buffalo News. “Now it’s going to be difficult to do everything by yourself.”
Comparable cities including Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Rochester and Syracuse are among those with one-officer patrols.
Chief of Staff James Giammaresi said officers will have to be more alert while riding alone.
“When you’re with a partner, it seems as if half your attention is being paid to the other person,” he said. “You’re talking about where you’re going to eat or about each other’s kids. It’s a very social environment. This gives us the ability to do more with less, because you’re going to have to be more alert.”
Officers are receiving training, with an emphasis on calling for backup help any time they believe it is needed. All officers are equipped with radios.
Dispatchers will assign cars based on the type of call. For example, two cars and one lieutenant would respond to a shooting or stabbing, while one car would be sent to a shoplifting.
The switch will increase the typical number of cars on the street at any one time from between 40 and 60 to between 60 and 80, police officials estimate.
The number of officers in Buffalo has dropped from 972 to 865 over the past year. The city expects to have 675 officers in four years.