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By Indy Staff, July 20, 2006

The Victims of an Underpaid Police Department

by Tim Roberts, a Santa Barbara police officer from 1979-2005.

I have felt attached to this fine city for years, and was proud to serve all of its residents before retiring 11 months ago. The men and women of the Santa Barbara Police Department (SBPD) are all very aware of the financial situation at City Hall. They also understand that these are challenging issues that must be met head-on in order to reach a resolution. Right now, the biggest issues for the department are in personnel numbers, officer safety, and morale. Labor negotiations are a side issue, but some have made it the focal point.

Years ago, liquor establishments had to vie for licenses by lottery or through buyout. The bars were few and far between. Now, obviously, they are lined on the city’s main corridor. The city has been granting licenses left and right to reap the benefits of these financial boons to their coffers. But there are consequences to this financial boon. It now appears that 90 percent of nighttime police resources are being used for 2 percent of the real estate, namely the downtown corridor. This means that those taxpayers who used to receive evening police patrol services in San Roque, Hidden Valley, the Lower East and West sides, and the Riviera for the most part now only get police presence when summoned.

To be sure, a city administrator’s job requires great insight when it comes to budgeting, and adding or deleting jobs that support the city. The tough part is deciding just how much cutting one can do without causing a collapse in the infrastructure — sort of like the stacking-game Jenga. When there is a cut made and the city body doesn’t collapse, then another cut is made, and so on. There is a point in this incremental desire to be thrifty that the police department’s engine will be leaned to the point of stalling out.

That point has been reached within the past year. In 1982, when I became a detective, there were 26 detectives in the bureau, all of whom were kept plenty busy. There are now 14 or so detectives, nine of whom handle all of the incoming crime reports. You can imagine the stacks of crime reports with which they have to deal. When positions get cut, the workload goes up; when the workload goes up, service levels go down. How and why would the population and crime go up, yet the city reduce the police services? With burglaries having increased 109 percent since 2001 and department strength actually reduced, why should the overseer be rewarded for being so disturbingly frugal?

Councilmember Helene Schnei­der said it herself: “Streamline city departments without laying off employees — this is accomplished by combining positions and/or job duties after existing employees resign or retire. Of course, we must be very careful that this streamlining does not undermine public health and safety or the level of services provided by the city.” Our officers are toeing the line despite the lower morale that came with this desire to cut to the bone. The SBPD has always maintained a high set of hiring standards, and because of that, it has historically been rated one of the most professional. The department determines and responds to the community’s needs on its own, and the officers try their best to give personal service to everyone. They are strained like they’ve never been before, but make no mistake: They will continue to be the troopers they are.

One of the first victims of under­paid police agencies is their integrity. Nationwide and in Mexico, agencies that pay less have lower hiring standards. Lower those and you have begun to sow the seeds for corruption. Certainly times are tough, but there are other solutions. It is particularly frustrating to hear that the city can’t pay the salaries that other cities do when I drive around town and see the $5,000 trash cans lining State Street and the fancy brass fire hydrants and hand-laid brick sidewalks adorning this city of symbolism over substance.

Those who marginalize our work and lay a flat comparison to the private sector are either misinformed or have an agenda of some sort. We aren’t just paid for what we do; we are also paid for what we might have to do. I sincerely hope that wiser minds prevail in all of this. In the meantime, take just a moment to thank the men and women who stay up at night ensuring your safety.

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