Budget constraints and the need to effectively respond to a growing number of emergency calls pushed Police Department officials to free up front desk officers and assign them to patrol, Lorenz said.
The move to reduce lobby and front desk hours would put two additional full-time officers on street patrol, he said.
The Police Department is aiming to fully staff the front desk with civilian personnel, such as community service officers, in the near future, Lorenz said.
But the front desk may still be staffed with a police officer, depending on work schedules. Injured officers who are restricted to light duty could also be assigned to the front desk.
Police receive the most calls from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., and have seen a 23% increase in demand for service in the last five years, according to the department’s 2008 Statistics and Organizational Structure report.
The new emergency phone was installed with a video camera Thursday morning outside the department’s front doors, and calls made on the phone will be answered by police dispatch during the evening hours.
Dispatchers would then call patrol officers to the lobby to provide service.
In the past, the lobby was open all holidays, but it will now be closed New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
Additional calls from the emergency phone would not create more work for police dispatchers and shouldn’t impair their ability to handle 9-1-1 calls, Lorenz said.
But it will create more work for people like bail bondsman Sharkey Klian, who said most of his business occurs during the time the front desk will be closed.
