Burbank police pull out of annual race due to short staffing
Staffing challenges forced Burbank police to pull out of what would have been their 25th Baker to Vegas relay race, a competition held last weekend that involved 280 law-enforcement agencies from across the country.
A week before 35 Burbank police officers and civilian employees were slated to run in or attend the race, participants struggled to fill their weekend shifts at home.
“We evaluated the staffing for the department on those two days specifically and felt we did not have enough people to backfill to safely support the operation of the department,” said Burbank Police Lt. John Dilibert, the team’s longtime co-captain.
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With 20 races under his belt, Dilibert has watched the event grow from 100 teams to almost 300.
“Were we disappointed? Yes. But we also know it’s the right call,” he said.
About eight of the participants — both officers in patrol and civilian employees — were scheduled to work over the weekend, he said.
Many of the sworn weekend shifts are already filled on an overtime basis. On average last month, two shifts each Saturday and eight shifts each Sunday were staffed on an overtime basis to meet the department’s minimum staffing requirements, according to the agency. That means officers must volunteer to work, or they’ll be forced to.
The department has the budget to staff 160 sworn personnel — which is eight positions less than before the economic recession — but just 141 of those positions are filled, while another seven recruits are in the police academy. The filled positions include seven sworn employees who are out due to injuries and one more on administrative leave.
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“People are disappointed, people who trained for it and support staff,” said Burbank Police Capt. Denis Cremins, who had planned to attend the race to support the runners. “I think they recognize the importance of policing the community overall. This is something nice to do, but keeping the community safe is No. 1.”
Participants said the 120-mile race — which the Burbank police union president said had become a tradition for the agency — builds teamwork skills and camaraderie among co-workers, and requires months of preparation and training.
“Certainly, when our members want to actually actively engage in events such as this that help encourage positive morale and camaraderie in the organization, it’s disappointing that they can’t do so,” said Burbank Police Officers Assn. President Jay Hawver.
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Alene Tchekmedyian, alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com
Twitter: @atchek
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