Phoenix police get OK to hire more civilians to help staffing issues

PHOENIX – The Phoenix City Council approved a plan to hire over two dozen civilians to ease officer staffing shortages on the police force.

The Phoenix Police Department will be able to add 33 positions, including 25 civilian investigators, after the unanimous vote at Wednesday’s meeting.

Those hires have been designated to support violent crimes, family Investigations, property crimes and drug enforcement bureaus.

The other eight positions will be assistants in response roles that don’t require a sworn officer, such as misdemeanor crimes that lack the need for follow-up and some traffic control.

The move will allow police “to use sworn staff where they are most needed,” according to the agenda item submitted.

Funding for the positions is already available in the department’s budget, public records of the meeting showed.

One week ago, Chief Jeri Williams announced more than 100 officers were being reassigned to patrol positions.

Personnel from specialty details will move to the patrol roles, a move Williams hopes will cut down on emergency response time.

Officers and detectives from specialty details have been handling patrol duties since July 2021.

A total of 108 officers were needed to bring patrol totals to about 1,200, according to a document that detailed specifics of the planned changes.

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