Long Beach Police Costs Found High : Study Cites Union Rules, Special Duty as Expense Factors

Long Beach pays more for police patrols but provides poorer coverage than four other major California cities, according to a city-commissioned study analyzing police staffing.

The study of six cities released Friday found that Long Beach’s 650-officer department costs more to operate than police agencies in Sacramento, San Diego, Santa Ana and San Jose after adjusting for population. Only Oakland, with the highest percentage of police officers per resident in the group, has higher per-capita costs than Long Beach, the state’s fifth-largest city.

Long Beach deploys 88% fewer patrol cars over a 24-hour period than the average of the other five cities, but the city’s costs per car are 125% higher than the average.

The study by Ralph Andersen & Associates of Sacramento blames several provisions in the Long Beach police union contract for the high costs, especially the traditional staffing of two officers in patrol cars on night shifts.

‘Most Costly’

“The requirement to operate two-officer patrol units after darkness is the most costly,” the study states. “More than any other aspect of the operation of the department, this requirement dictates the ineffective and inefficient use of resources.”

The study also says the city could increase field deployment of patrol units by 20% if officers worked eight hours a day, five days a week, instead of the current 10-hour shifts over four days.

The Long Beach City Council ordered the study last December to determine whether the city needs a proposed ballot measure to hire another 164 officers. The council members wanted to find out if the present force could be redeployed more effectively.

For Police Chief Lawrence L. Binkley and police union officials, the study’s recommendations may add fire to already rancorous contract talks that have boiled over into open warfare between the two sides.

Besides the labor-management struggle, the department’s image has been tarnished by debate over a secretly videotaped incident last January in which black activist Don Jackson appeared to have had his head pushed through a window by a white police officer.

According to the study, “continuing conflict” between officers and police management “tends to make an improvement in the overall image of the department very difficult.”

Provide Ammunition

The report could provide ammunition for both sides. It validates union claims that many officers are on special project assignments that remove them from their normal duties, as the union has charged. It blames the City Council for creating many of the special jobs.

The study urges major changes in the union contract, such as more one-officer cars and a five-day workweek, that are strongly opposed by the union’s president.

“We can respond quicker to emergency calls of a violent nature with two men in the car,” said Mike Tracy, president of the Long Beach Police Officers Assn., explaining that officers do not have to wait for a backup unit. “If you’re out there and you’re calling for help because there’s a man on your front porch with an AK-47, you want the officers there as quick as possible.”

Urging cooperation between the two sides, City Manager James C. Hankla said the study contains “some serious recommendations for . . . management as well as labor.”

Mayor Ernie Kell said that while he is disturbed that “we are not fielding as many (police) units per dollar” as other cities, he will recommend appointment of a task force to study ways to raise revenue so that the city can afford to hire more officers.

Currently, Long Beach has 1.59 officers per 1,000 residents and is ranked third among the six cities surveyed. The proposed voter initiative to increase the number of officers would raise the ratio to 2 officers per 1,000 residents.

The department has also conducted a study of officers who are injured on duty. The study found that excessive levels of illness and injury are causing unusually high absenteeism within the department. The study recommends an increased use of civilians in positions now filled by officers to put more officers on street duty.