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Police survey links crime spike to economy
By Christine Vendel
Kansas City Star
KANSAS CITY — A proposed $12 million budget cut for Kansas City police could cause crime to increase and also slow response times, police officials said Tuesday.
They now calculate that they might have to lay off 225 employees, more than previously estimated. Even if many of those are civilians, the cuts would impact significantly the number of officers on the street.
The loss of officers would “be devastating,” Capt. Dan Haley on Tuesday told the Board of Police Commissioners.
In the past 10 years, the department has boosted staffing by 16 percent, Police Chief Jim Corwin said. During that time, overall crime fell 24 percent.
“That is a true investment,” Corwin said.
The additional officers helped cut response times in half in recent years, he said.
Mayor Mark Funkhouser, a police board member, said he didn’t want to lose the gains the department had made.
The latest citizen survey showed drops in 32 different scores throughout the city, but an increase in the public’s perception of safety, he said.
“The Police Department is doing well in a sea of things that aren’t working well,” he said. “It is real. The citizens see it.”
Police said 90 percent of their budget involves personnel costs. The remaining 10 percent pays for utilities, gas, telephones, vehicles, maintenance and repairs.
The department in recent decades had replaced 200 law enforcement positions with civilians to get more officers on the streets and save money. But if those civilian positions, which are “a critical part of our day-to-day operations,” are eliminated, Haley said, officers would have to fill the void.
“In the end, the Police Department could lose up to 225 police officers through a combination of layoffs and reassignment,” Haley said.
Haley also said the department may have to cut services. He didn’t name specific programs. But a report given Tuesday to the police board said the additional officers hired in recent years allowed the department to focus on community policing and cold-case investigations, and continue programs such as DARE, the Police Athletic League and school resource officers.
City Manager Wayne Cauthen has suggested that the police make some cuts through consolidations of certain functions with the city. Corwin said the department was “all about efficiency” and was willing to consolidate, “but it has to be based on data.”
Police board members said they knew they needed to make cuts to help the city with a projected $90 million budget shortfall, but they wanted the cuts to be strategic, not done with a “meat ax.”
“This is a basic service,” said board member Mark Thompson. “If people can’t depend on the police, that is a real problem.”
Funkhouser said the city faced a delicate balancing act because “people need to feel safe” and if they don’t, they might move out of the city. Fewer residents would make the city’s financial situation worse.
Funkhouser wouldn’t comment more specifically on department cuts, saying he would make his recommendations Feb. 12.
“We need to find $90 million in changes in this budget and none of them are pleasant,” he said.
Copyright 2009 Kansas City Star