The Arlington County Police Department is planning a “strategic restructuring” as a wave of retirements and departures leaves significant gaps in its staffing.
Services could be reduced as the department’s functional strength falls to a projected 50 officers below its authorized force of 370, according to an internal memo sent by police chief M. Jay Farr and obtained by ARLnow.com.
The Arlington Police Beneficiary Association, an employee organization representing Arlington officers that is advocating for higher police compensation in the county’s current budget process, said the “historic understaffing” is due to “sub-par pay.”
ACPD's usual attrition rate is about 6.5% of authorized strength per year. This fiscal year it is already 8.4%…with more than four months to go! Why are so many people leaving? #ACPD #ACFD
— Arlington Police Beneficiary Association (@ArlPoliceAssoc) February 21, 2018
ACPD is currently 45 officers below full operational strength. That's nearly two full Patrol squads! When you're that understaffed, services the community wants will have to be cut. #ACPD #ACFD
— Arlington Police Beneficiary Association (@ArlPoliceAssoc) February 24, 2018
In the past 4 1/2 years, as ACPD has been trying to hire additional officers, the Department is actually DOWN a total of 12 officers. You can't recruit/retain high-quality officers with sub-par pay. #ACPD #ACFD
— Arlington Police Beneficiary Association (@ArlPoliceAssoc) February 22, 2018
Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz’s proposed budget includes a 2.5 percent pay raise for rank-and-file officers, on top of pay hikes for all county employees. The raise does not apply to the department’s command staff. The County Board voted over the weekend against a property tax rate increase, meaning that any additional money for the department beyond Schwartz’s recommendation will likely result in reductions elsewhere in the budget.
The police department is actively recruiting to try to fill staffing holes, but faces competition from other D.C. area local police departments as well as federal law enforcement agencies that often have higher levels of pay. Asked about the numbers, ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage said the total staffing level at the department is a bit higher than the functional staffing level.
“The Arlington County Police Department has an authorized staffing of 370 officers and a current strength of 346 officers,” she told ARLnow.com. “Our current strength includes recruits currently at the academy as well as officers on light duty so our functional staffing is a little lower.”
A table showing retirements and non-retirement departures from the police department, as provided by a county spokeswoman, shows a sharp uptick in 2017.
In a statement, Savage said the planned restructuring will “maximize our available resources.”
Our goals and objectives as a department have not changed, nor has our commitment to providing professional law enforcement services to the residents, visitors and businesses of Arlington County. However, our methods of achieving these goals must adapt to our current staffing challenges. To maximize our available resources, we will be completing a strategic restructuring of the police department. This will be accomplished by our command staff collaborating with the entirety of the police department and devising a staffing plan jointly. Our staffing and structure will focus on prioritizing core services and ensuring the services we are able to provide are effective and efficient. The ultimate goal is to design a police department reflective of our current staffing levels, limit the workload strain on officers by focusing on core services and promote a balanced work/life atmosphere. Our plan will also be forward looking to support growth as staffing improves. It is anticipated that the restructuring will be complete by late spring and additional information will be available at that time.
“Great work happens throughout this agency on a daily basis and this I am confident this will continue despite our current staffing challenges,” Chief Farr said in a statement issued to ARLnow.com. “The strategic restructure will provide us with an opportunity to maximize our resources by building a police department reflective of our current staffing levels while supporting our mission to reduce the incidence of crime and improve the quality of life in Arlington County.”
In the memo, below, Farr says the police department will be reevaluating its ability to provide support for special events in the county as part of the restructuring process.
The Arlington County Fire Department, meanwhile, is facing similar pressures. Fire department personnel are slated to receive an extra 4 percent bump in pay over the standard county employee raise in Schwartz’s budget, but the Arlington Professional Firefighters and Paramedics Association says even that might not be enough to fill gaps in staffing.
Arlington County will never be an "employer of choice" as advertised when their compensation for public safety is at the bottom of the DMV. #ACFD #ACPD #ArlingtonVA
— IAFF Local 2800 (@IAFF2800) February 21, 2018
With Fairfax's 4.5% market adjustment, #ACFD will be 17.5% behind. How can Arlington County firefighters not feel devalued?
We are not asking to be at the top…just asking for comparable pay for public safety. @ARLnowDOTcom
— IAFF Local 2800 (@IAFF2800) February 22, 2018
The full memo about restructuring from Chief Farr, after the jump.
Greetings,
As we head into what we know will be a challenging year, I want to share some information on where we stand today and what the next steps for the police department will be.
We have undoubtedly seen a significant reduction in our workforce due to normal attrition, retirements and officers seeking other opportunities. I, along with the rest of the command staff, recognize the impacts the reduced staffing has had on all of you and the dedicated work you perform each and every day for the citizens, visitors and businesses of Arlington County. The police department has an authorized staffing of 370 officers and, by April of this year, our functional staffing number is projected to be as low as 320 officers.
While our goals and objectives as a department have not changed, our methods of achieving them must adapt to our current challenges.
To maximize our available resources, we will be completing a strategic restructuring of the police department. This will be accomplished by our command staff collaborating with the entirety of the police department and devising a staffing plan jointly. Our staffing and structure will focus on prioritizing core services and ensuring the services we are able to provide are effective and efficient. The ultimate goal is to design a police department reflective of our current staffing levels, limit the workload strain on staff by focusing on core services and promote a balanced work/life atmosphere.
This restructuring will give us the opportunity to review the department as a whole and to add services in critical areas that may currently be deficient. Our plan will also be forward looking to support growth as staffing improves. Additionally, the process will include trying to identify opportunities for career development and growth throughout the agency. We will also reevaluate the support the police department provides to special events.
For me personally, it is disheartening to be with the department this long, experience the hard work everyone has undertaken to make this a leading police agency and have to reduce many of the aspects that allow us to positively impact the quality of life of our community on a daily basis. I am proud of the dedicated work you provide to the community and the communities’ appreciation is evident in the support we receive. Great work happens throughout this agency on a daily basis and this, I am sure, will continue.
Those of us committed to seeing this through have invested a tremendous part of our professional lives in building this agency. Please know that we will weather this storm together, this is a team effort, and it is one that we will overcome collectively. The goal is to complete the restructuring process by the spring draft. Additional information will be shared as we move forward, but I wanted to ensure this information was shared directly with all of you at the onset of the process. If you have questions or concerns, please contact any member of the command staff.
M. Jay Farr
Chief of Police
Arlington County, VA