02/23/04  Why NW Got Shortchanged from New Academy Classes!

The following is from an officer who explains the allocation of graduated recruits to the city's various police divisions.   The officer's explanation makes sense, but it does not change the fact that Councilman Steve Salazar was on top of things and looking out for his constituents in NW Dallas.  Now, the DPD Brass know their decisions will get public airing.  That will be a good thing for the DPD, and a better thing for Dallas citizens.  Thank you to the officer for the explanation.  Thank you to Councilman Salazar for watching out for us.  sb
 

Sharon,   I can't give you the official reason that NW received so few recruits from the last class.   Here's the word around the water cooler:  Due to a deep hatred for Danny Garcia, Terrell Bolton never allowed Central their proper staffing.  Central Operations is grossly understaffed, even much more so than other divisions.  Bolton seemed to believe if he understaffed Central, crime would go up and he could then blame Chief Garcia.  Since Bolton's departure, the Department has tried to right itself with regards to personnel allotment.   Only one class has come out of the academy since Bolton's demise.       NW was slightly less in need of relief from understaffing than other stations.         SW received three recruits.       It will take several years for the DPD to reach proper staffing levels. Currently, there are not enough new qualified recruits to fill an Academy class of fifty.     Recruitment has been way down due to the loss of benefits by police.         They can't find 50 people willing to work at Dallas that are qualified!         Training takes 16 months.         There are not enough trainers to truly bring the department up to standards quickly.       Even if we could find people willing to accept what Dallas has to offer (or better yet, raise the salary and benefits to competitive standards) and were able to run the academy 24 hours a day, there would be no way to field train the apprentice police officers. It's a no-win situation.   No win for officers because Dallas is too dangerous a place to work. No win for citizens because Dallas is too dangerous a place to live. DPD OFFICER