The problem, of course, is that both crime and calls for service usually peak during the evening hours, and are especially high on Friday evening through Sunday morning. What we found, however, was that these high-volume periods were often the very times when many of our PSA officers were not working because of shift assignments or regular days off. Even with more officers on the PSAs, this imbalance led many residents to ask the simple question, "Where are the police?"
All that is about to change. To make sure that our officers are working during high-crime and high- demand periods, I am requiring that every member of Operational Services have a set tour of duty and set days off. Earlier this year, we allowed members to vote on whether they wanted fixed or rotating days off, and they overwhelmingly selected fixed days off. For the PSAs, having set tours of duty and set days off will mean one thing: the percentage of PSA officers and sergeants working a particular shift, with particular days off, will be balanced with the workload requirements.
Our plans are to divide the shifts as follows: 30 percent on days, 32 percent on evenings, 22 percent on midnights and 16 percent on a "power shift" that crosses two regular shift periods. Fewer than one in five officers will have Fridays and Saturdays off. And about one in four will have Sundays and Mondays off. This will help ensure that we have sufficient numbers of officers working during the critical weekend period. Officers will be allowed to identify their preferences for a tour and days off, and, if necessary, assignments will be based on seniority.
I recognize that being more efficient in distributing PSA officers across shifts and days off, may necessitate some adjustments in shift or PSA assignments for some officers. The minor disruptions that may occur in some PSAs are an unfortunate, but I believe necessary, by-product of our overriding need to ensure that we have enough officers working when they are needed most—when crime and calls for service are at their highest.
To support these changes in manpower allocation, my Office of Organizational Development will be developing, over the next few months, a more sophisticated manpower allocation model that will help determine the number of officers required on each PSA. The original allocation model from Booz-Allen looked only at priority calls and serious, "Index" crimes. A formula was created to identify each PSA's proportion of the total serious crime and calls for service in the District as a whole. So if a PSA accounted for 1.3 percent of the weighted formula of crimes and calls for service, then that PSA was to receive 1.3 percent of the staff resources dedicated to PSAs.
This approach was flawed because it did not take into consideration offenses such as prostitution or drugs, which require a great deal of police resources and which generate a great deal of community concern. Nor did the original formula factor in the time required to respond to different calls for service or engage in community policing. This approach merely distributed a given number of officers—divided up the pie, if you will. But it did not question how large the pie needed to be in the first place—that is, how many officers are realistically needed to respond to and prevent crime in the PSAs.
The project team will be working to identify realistic numbers for PSA strength based on the work being done and the time it takes to do that work. I will keep the Committee informed of our progress in developing the new manpower allocation model and any other changes we intend to make in the PSA model.
Thank you again for the opportunity to present these comments on the Management Reform Act and to update you on the PSA model. The Metropolitan Police Department continues to move forward in our efforts to professionalize the Department and become more effective by strengthening leadership, staffing and resources on the PSAs.
The overall thrust of the Management Reform Act certainly supports these ongoing efforts. I look forward to working with the Committee and the entire Council to further enhance this important piece of legislation, as we also work together to enhance community policing in our city.
