Councilman says he is 'concerned' about Pittsburgh police staffing levels
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — One Pittsburgh City Council member is calling the shrinking of the city's police force a crisis that puts the public at risk.
With gun violence spiking and homicides surging, Pittsburgh has been steadily losing police officers to retirement and suburban departments. Some say the mayor has been slow to act in recruiting and training more officers.
"I think the administration has been slow in putting a recruitment class on," Councilman Anthony Coghill said. "They're slow in showing me what the plan is to get more officers in the city of Pittsburgh so we don't face this crisis."
Though the mayor has budgeted for 900 officers, the number of uniformed police now stands at 830. The city lost 34 officers to retirement and 36 to mostly higher-paying suburban departments last year.
The city won't be putting on a full, new class until July. But those recruits won't be hitting the streets until the following summer. In the meantime, Coghill says the city could lose another 150 officers, jeopardizing public safety.
"We're at 830 now, we'll be close to 600 police officers," he said. "That will not do the job. Something needs to be done. I'm very concerned."
KDKA-TV's Andy Sheehan: "What about the criticism that the city and the administration have been slow to act in hiring police?"
Mayor Ed Gainey: "If you're coming off of two years stands when we've had no classes, at the end of the day, that's a problem."
The Peduto administration graduated the last police class in January 2021 but canceled another planned. Mayor Gainey has cited this for the current deficit, but he says the administration also needed to study how many police officers are needed. To that end, it's awarded a $180,000 contract to a consultant to make that evaluation.
"Coming into office, we had to do many assessments, and one was the police," Gainey said. "But I don't think that is acting slow. I think that's doing due diligence to make sure that what we're doing is appropriate."
Rather than study staffing, Coghill says the administration should put on multiple classes as soon as possible and settle contract talks with the union to retain as many officers as it can.
"I'm not one for studies," he said. "I would much rather use that as an incentive to keep our officers in intact."
And since Police Chief Scott Schubert left in July, the city is still without a permanent police chief. The city is paying another consultant to find a new chief, but one won't be named until April.