Pittsburgh police no longer responding to some calls

Last month, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police announced it would reduce call responses by not responding to certain types of calls and would no longer utilize a desk officer from 3-7 a.m. According to reporting by WPXI Pittsburgh, the bureau's chief, Larry Scirotto, is seeking to cut down the call volume from 200,000 calls a year to 50,000 calls a year by no longer responding to calls that are not considered an "active emergency." Some of those calls include theft, harassment, criminal mischief, alarms and parking complaints. Scirotto added that the move would free up his officers to participate in more community engagement functions. WPXI Pittsburgh also reported that the chief said the bureau's data does not support an officer manning the desk at its six stations. Scirotto's solution to this was the installation of call boxes connected to 911. So, is there any chance similar changes could be made at police departments in north-central Ohio? The Register and Reflector posed that question to local law enforcement leaders and to get their reactions to the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police's decision. Erie County Sheriff's Office Paul Sigsworth The Erie County Sheriff's Office has over 100 employees, including dispatchers, correction officers, patrol deputies and administrative staff. Due to this high number, Erie County Sheriff Paul Sigsworth said that the likelihood of them implementing similar changes is slim. "We don't have any critical staffing shortage at all," Sigsworth said. "We would not even be thinking about something, unfortunately, like what Pittsburgh is going through." His department typically has three to six deputies working during the night shift. "Part of the issue with law enforcement staffing is that you have to staff according to what the average can be because you never know what you may have to handle from one shift to the next," Sigsworth said. "It's sad to see what is going on in Pittsburgh because, especially with certain types of calls, you can't just not respond to them." Sandusky police Jared Oliver Sandusky police Chief Jared Oliver said that although the department is not considered staffed at full capacity, they do not have any plans to make changes to how they respond to calls. "Police recruitment and retention of law enforcement is a nationwide issue," Oliver said. "We are actively looking at ways to find and hire qualified full-time officers to our department." Oliver said that the department is budgeted for 53 full-time officers and that the number of officers working the overnight shift is anywhere from 6 to 10, depending on the day of the week and factors like time off and sick pay. "I can't believe it, as Pittsburgh is a town of, like, two million people, and 20 police officers on the overnight shift is simply not enough for that size," Oliver said. "It's just insane." Norwalk police Scott Dahlgren Norwalk police is another local department that said it doesn't plan on changing how it responds to calls despite minor staffing concerns. Police Chief Scott Dahlgren said that "community engagement and responding to non-emergency calls are both important to our agency, and (will) continue to do both." He added that on any given shift, three to four officers are on road patrol. Dahlgren also said that the department tends to its highest call volume in the late afternoon to early evening time frame. "The Norwalk Police Department remains committed to handling calls in our community, providing a community-oriented response, and maintaining a relationship with our citizens," Dahlgren said. "We will continue responding to calls for service and engaging in community engagement as we always have." Perkins police Jeff Musser Perkins police also don't foresee making any similar adjustments to its operations. Police Chief Jeff Musser said that, as of this moment, his department would not be making any changes to its day-to-day operations as it remains fully staffed and will have no trouble responding to calls like theft, harassment, criminal mischief, alarms and parking complaints.