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Springfield's public safety is in decline. |
IN A TOWN BUILT ON PUBLIC SERVICE, ESSENTIAL SAFETY SERVICES ARE DETERIORATING.
Every year, the Springfield Police and Fire Departments respond to well over 100,000 calls for service. The people of Springfield expect that when they need help, the police officer or fire fighter who is called arrives quickly, and with the resources to do the job.
According to a 2022 study completed by the IL-PBPA, the Springfield Police Department is experiencing a severe recruitment and retention crisis. With historically low staffing and experience levels, call response times are way up. This has resulted in the public being placed in unnecessarily heightened danger.
With an understaffed and inexperienced department, the combination of increased call response times and officer fatigue have extraordinarily serious implications for public safety. Something must be done immediately.
Since 2015, the Police Department has hired 164 new officers, but 189 have left. And projections show that another 75-129 will leave in the next three years. This has directly resulted in increased response times, impaired officer judgment, and officers arriving on scene without backup.
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The City has attempted to increase hiring by lowering standards. For instance, in 2010 over 250 people tested to be Springfield Police Officers. In 2021, it was 31. Currently, the next test in 2023 is only expecting 8 people. As a result, the City is hiring virtually every person who applies, while a decade ago they were only hiring the best candidates.
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87% of Springfield Police Officers say that call responses have gone up, sometimes as long as 1-3 hours. 65% of Springfield Police Officers report that they have personally observed increased danger to civilians as a result of heightened call response times.
As a result of understaffing, 96% of Springfield Police Officers have reported impaired judgment due to longer hours and less backup. |
By failing to replace officers who retire, currently 51% of patrol officers have less than 4 years experience.
