Schenectady police staffing trimmed for winter

City police staffing has been temporarily reduced to reflect winter call volume, Police Chief Brian Kilcullen said.

The effort is part of an ongoing analysis of police call volume and how best to deploy officers, Kilcullen said.

He declined to give exact numbers, but described the reduction as slight and said it is in response to the lighter call volume of winter versus the busier summer.

“As long as I’ve been here this is exactly what we’ve been doing,” Kilcullen said. “This is nothing different than what’s been done for the 21 years of my career.

“As our calls for service start to rise above our trend line, then we’ll adjust it again,” he said.

The move, put in place Feb. 3, has drawn some criticism and concern.

City Councilman Vince Riggi said Tuesday he heard from an officer last week who was concerned over how a reduction in the number of officers available would affect safety and response times.

Riggi said when he hears “fewer officers,” he shares those concerns. At the same time, he said he’s not second-guessing the administration and its reasons for making the change.

“If they feel comfortable with the staffing levels, they’re in charge,” Riggi said. “But I do have concerns if there are less officers out there.”

What he generally hears from the public are calls for more officers, not fewer, he said. Riggi said he heard from the officer that the move reduced two scheduled officer slots.

“My thing will be to see how this works out,” Riggi said. “If there’s a problem, then I’m going to ask some more questions.”

A representative of the Schenectady Police Benevolent Association could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters this week, city Public Safety Commissioner Wayne Bennett defended the move, saying Kilcullen is constantly looking at call numbers. Kilcullen, he said, “is very astute at performing his job.”

“We’re not going to put people out there that we don’t think are necessary to be there,” Bennett said.

Any overtime saved now will likely be used in the summer months when the need is there, he said. He also noted that the union contract allows the administration to shift forces as necessary.

Bennett also questioned the underlying reasons for complaints, saying he sees the issue as concerning available overtime. “Nobody’s safety is being jeopardized,” he said.

“He’s been doing this a long time and he’s good at what he does,” Bennett said of Kilcullen. “Some people may be disappointed that overtime opportunities are not going to be there right now. That’s unfortunate. But he’s got an obligation to run a police department, and a budget as well.”

Asked about the afternoon of Feb. 15, when the department responded to a double stabbing and another incident that initially came in as a stabbing, Bennett said the response was not unlike other responses to shootings or bank robberies. Officers are initially tied up, then released to other tasks as the number of officers needed is determined.

“We’re not going to hesitate to spend the overtime where we see that as being a necessary thing to do,” Bennett said later. “But this time of year, overtime really isn’t as necessary as say July, August and September.”