Pittsburgh Bureau of Police names three new assistant chiefs and four new commanders
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police promoted multiple officers to high ranks during a ceremony Friday morning, as the department continues to tackle low staffing levels.
13 officers gained new titles during the event at the City-County Building. There are five new sergeants, four new commanders, three new assistant chiefs, and one new lieutenant.
Richard Ford, previously a commander, is now the assistant chief of operations.
"I know that there might be anxiety, but I think with new people, comes new ideas, new focus," Ford said.
He knows with this new role comes pressure from the public, as the force faces what the union calls the lowest staffing levels anyone can remember.
"There's no danger to the people. We're going to continue to provide the services that we've always provided. We're going to do them efficiently. We're just trying to do better," Ford said.
In 2023, 102 officers left the bureau, either resigning or retiring, with one dying of natural causes. It left the bureau with 735 sworn officers and 12 command staff as of the start of this year.
One of the steps Chief Larry Scirotto is taking is reducing the amount of officers overnight, from 63 to half that. He defends the move, citing low call volume during the hours of 3 to 7 a.m.
"That is about when 8% of our call volume is occurring. We have 30% of our staff, so the metrics and the data, they support having that number of personnel working in those periods of hours," Scirotto said.
At the same time, he's removing the six overnight desk officers who would typically respond to calls made from blue boxes outside the stations.
"We don't have many people that show up at our stations in the overnight hour, and when they do, we have installed our blue phones that they have the ability to hit the button and it'll call 911," Scirotto said.
Scirotto said it's about prioritizing what the officers respond to, and with that, comes a new online and telephone reporting system for incidents like false burglar alarms, vandalism, and parking complaints, something he said other departments nationwide have been doing for years.
"It's not about what we say they're not going to do. It's about making sure that they're responding to the things we say we're responsible for," Scirotto said. "Those are in-progress calls."
They're also focused on bringing in new officers, with the first of two new recruit classes hitting the streets this spring and more to come the rest of the year.
"Our focus has been and always will be the citizens of the City of Pittsburgh," Ford said.
Scirotto said some of the changes will go into effect on February 26. Others will start in mid-March, including the online reporting system.
