On Wednesday the Vallejo Police Officers Association released a statement complaining of a possible lack of a 911 dispatch center in the future due to a staffing shortage.
The Vallejo Police Department’s response time? About two days.
Another chapter in the divorced parents-like battle between Vallejo police officers and their union played out in tense fashion over the past week. On Friday, the VPD refuted a VPOA claim over the lack of dispatch stations in the City. The statement called the previous news by VPOA “misinformation” and went on to claim that the news reported by KRON 4 earlier in the week was also inaccurate — with attribution in its story citing the VPD and not the VPOA, which is a separate entity. The VPD also stated that communication dispatchers are not represented by the VPOA.
“In addition, the VPOA’s news release was filled with mistruths,” the news release by the VPD stated. “It suggested that VPD would close nighttime emergency dispatch operations. That statement could not be further from the truth. No staffing decisions have been made by either Chief (Shawny) Williams or the City Manager (Mike Malone). Maintaining staffing levels for City of Vallejo Emergency Dispatch is an ongoing challenge, like many other areas of city operations. At present, the City has roughly a 30 percent vacancy rate citywide amongst all positions.”
The news release went on to say that the post-pandemic hiring recovery has been tumultuous, exemplified by fierce hiring demand and competition for talent.
“This is impacting all employers, both municipal and private sector,” the VPD said in its release. “In response, the City of Vallejo has undertaken a comprehensive compensation review of its Dispatcher positions to determine a strategy to increase competitiveness and retention. We need qualified people who are passionate about service and our community to join VPD. The City of Vallejo has been working on strategies that would attract strong candidates to join our effort. Hiring qualified public servants is a priority for VPD. We are currently recruiting qualified candidates and looking at strategies to incentivize recruitment and retention.”
The VPD then went on to say that there will be no disruption or interruption to public safety services and that scheduling adjustments have been made to ensure a dispatch center is staffed 24 hours and seven days a week.
A VPOA statement earlier in the week claimed the opposite, claiming it handled 400 to 500 calls a day and routinely works with only two people, “not allowing for breaks or even basic trips to the bathroom. Whereas five dispatchers per shift provide the most effective amount of resources for safe and efficient operation.”
“This critical staffing crisis, that significantly affects both the Vallejo police and fire departments, has brought the department to be within one staffed dispatcher of not being able to provide 24-hour 911 emergency services to the community,” the VPOA news release stated. “It is believed that the administration of the Vallejo Police Department is currently considering a plan to relinquish 911 calls as well as police and fire dispatch services to another entity during nighttime hours.”
The VPOA also claimed that the VPD was set to lose another dispatcher to a nearby agency within the next few weeks, which will force Vallejo to take this drastic action of potentially outsourcing dispatch services for the City of Vallejo or making dispatchers work mandatory 12-16 hour workdays.
“Although dispatchers are not represented by the VPOA, we believe the citizens deserve to know these plans prior to them being implemented, not after,” the VPOA stated. “Outsourcing these services will cause a disruption in emergency response from police, fire, and medical. Equally as bad, forcing operators to work 16-hour days is unsustainable. It is unacceptable and disappointing that staffing throughout the entire department has continued to fall to critical levels placing more burden on remaining staff and lack of prompt services for the citizens of Vallejo.” Source: www.mercurynews.com