ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - KMOX has been reporting on the shortage of St. Louis Police Officers for years, but on Wednesday, shortage took on a new meaning
There were only two officers to patrol and respond to calls in the entire Third Police District in South City, which is a very busy district that covers a wide swath of territory.
St. Louis Police Association Business Manager Joe Steiger says this is just outright dangerous for citizens and the police.
Between 4:00 to 10:00 pm on the Wednesday afternoon watch, police had several shooting calls, including a double shooting in the 2600 block of Osage. that claimed the life an 18-year old man.
Steiger says one of the shooting scenes was chaotic, there was an officer in need of aid call that went out. Steiger says, "you're pulling from other districts and it's just not safe, the officers do not feel safe on the Street."
Additionally, Steiger says "there should never be a scenario where you only have two police officers in a district, it's just not fair.
In order to answer calls for service in the Third District, police officers had to be taken from the Fourth District. Which also was working one of the shootings on 15th and Cole.
KMOX wanted to know if anyone within the Police Department, including St. Louis Police Chief Robert Tracy, or the Interim Public Safety Director Charles Coyle, would hold a press conference regarding the critical shortage on Wednesday's afternoon watch. Apparently they will not be addressing the issue.
Public Information Officer Sergeant Charles Wall released a statement to KMOX. We have it here in its entirety.
Over the past several years, law enforcement agencies across the country have experienced staffing shortages and other employment-related challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as civil unrest and other large-scale gatherings that have placed additional stresses on policing manpower levels and deployment. Similar to police departments across the country, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department has been experiencing prolonged staffing shortages in both commissioned and civilian positions. These are not dissimilar to vacancies that have affected private and nonprofit organizations, as well as other government agencies, in recent months and years.
While patrol staffing levels were low yesterday in one of our districts, it is not accurate to state that no police officers were working in that area. Multiple police officers assigned to this area were sick on yesterday's date, which coupled with injury-related absences resulted in the staffing shortage. Both injuries and illness are common challenges facing police departments, especially given the continued effects of COVID-19 in our communities and the higher risk of injuries faced by first responders. There is no evidence suggesting that this was a coordinated effort, and we continue to have policies in place to monitor sick time usage and address potential issues.
On any occasion when we experience a staffing shortage in one particular area or shift, we have a number of tools available to address this. We are able to offer overtime pay for officers to cover the vacancy, as well as supplemental support units that can be deployed - and redeployed - as necessary to assist where needed. It is not uncommon for police officers to assist with calls for service in neighboring districts, even when staffing shortages are not a factor.
We have these options available in order to ensure, despite any staffing challenges we may face, that we are able to provide continuous and high-quality police services to the residents of St. Louis. Staffing challenges are unfortunately not new to our agency and the dedicated men and women who serve the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the City of St. Louis, both commissioned and non-commissioned employees, continue their hard work which has resulted in an overall reduction in crime this year compared to years prior.
This year we raised the starting salary for officers and negotiated pay raises through the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Mayor's Administration and St. Louis Police Officers’ Association. The contract has helped the department become competitive with the surrounding jurisdictions, and has even attracted some officers who previously left our agency to return. We are always looking for dedicated, service-oriented candidates who are interested in joining our department, and we have taken steps to bolster our recruitment efforts. Additionally, the City of St. Louis recently allowed for previously experienced officers with a Missouri Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) license to get hired here at the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department at a rate of pay with the same years of service as the number of years that officer has served at another agency while maintaining that license.
Business Manager Joe Steiger tells KMOX, the St. Louis Police Department is short 287 officers. He says while new classes are graduating the academy, probationary officers cannot be put by themselves for three months.
And Steiger says in the nine months of this year, the Department has lost another 100 officers...to make that up will take years.
Steiger wants to see recruiting and the interviewing process expedited, given the critically low number of officers. As of now, there are less than 1-thousand St. Louis Police officers, but those are not all on the street, that number includes supervisors and high ranking personnel.
Steiger said what's disappointing, Chief Tracy or Public Safety have Director Coyle, have not reached out to the St. Louis Police Officer's Association.