SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio Police is seeking to bring on hundreds of officers in the next five years. Most city council members seem on board with the idea, but they want to see additional data to back up the request.
SAPD recommends adding 100 new officers in the 2024 fiscal year, which could cost $12.5 million, according to city staff. The department receives 2 million emergency and non-emergency calls each year, according to a presentation from their deputy chief.
“If we let up in our recruiting for even a minute, we would start to fall behind,” Police Chief William McManus says it could be a challenge to reach that 360 goal, but if they get the budget, they’ll make it work.
Those recommendations came from a staffing study that was approved by council in June 2022, although the study is incomplete after the doctor hired to do the study died due to illness, McManus says.
The request had mostly positive reviews from San Antonio City Council members, however some wanted to see the rest of the study completed first.
“It feels a little messy to me, and somewhat arbitrary to me to say 100,” Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez said. The city’s policy goal is to keep police spending below 66% of the overall budget. 78 officers were added in the 2023 fiscal year.
360 officers are requested to achieve a goal of 40% time on call and 60% discretionary time. An officer can use discretionary time to focus on certain crimes, directed patrol, ordinance violations or work with community groups on certain projects, according to the Chief.
Chief McManus says adding officers will help improve customer service.
“You as a complainant may feel that I rushed through the report and getting information from you because I got to get to the next call. We don’t want our community folks feeling they weren’t given the time needed or deserved,” Chief McManus said.
Council members say their constituents want police to follow up on crimes reported.
“If we have 100 more officers on the street, that’s more cases. I want to ensure we’re minimizing the caseload and working through those cases,” Councilwoman Teri Castillo said.
Those officers could do more than just patrol, and could be added to the department’s SAFFE unit, who stays on assigned beats to prevent crimes before they happen, according to the city’s website.
Answering questions on how the city would pay for the additional officers, the department plans to apply for 50 officers through the Department of Justice COPS grant, which would cover $6.3 million. City Manager Erik Walsh said the city did not receive the grant last year.
Currently the department has 74 vacancies, most of which will be filled by SAPD cadet classes. City Council members also want to make sure the department has adequate mental health resources and benefits for officers.
“We are losing officers because of the stress of this job. And they do not have the luxury of being on a call, and just saying ‘you know what, I got to take mental health rest,’” Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran said.
Chief McManus says the department will have to put an RFP out to finish the staffing study on the department’s investigative unit.