How many officers does a suburban police department need? Answers vary

Amid a nationwide shortage of recruits, many suburban law enforcement departments are working to grow their ranks to reach an appropriate level of police protection while also maintaining fiscal responsibility.

Experts say there’s no single equation for departments and municipalities to use that easily identifies that perfect level. In many towns, the number of officers is often simply determined by population. A town’s geographical footprint also plays a part in determining staff size, so response times don’t get too long. Departments also analyze data to see how long officers routinely spend on service calls.

“You really need to know what your officers’ workload is and when the peaks and valleys are,” said Leonard Matarese, the managing partner at the Center for Public Safety Management at the International City/County Management Association. “You’ve got to really dig into the details, but that’s not something many police departments are equipped to do.”

After keeping its police staffing level steady at about 108 sworn officers for the better part of a decade, Palatine is one of those suburbs ready to increase its ranks. The shift comes after officials identified a greater need for neighborhood-based policing and community services.

“It helps us focus on some of those core services,” Chief Bill Nord said.

The village board approved hiring two more officers to complement the implementation of the department’s new community engagement and planning division, which is being rolled out next year.

When looking at staffing levels, Palatine Village Manager Reid Ottesen said officials look beyond just population figures to consider such variables as calls for service, the types of calls, and how long those calls take.

“Because it’s all about making sure we have the right number of officers to take charge of calls,” he said.

According to a study by Matarese’s organization, most police departments nationally average between 1.8 and 2.6 sworn officers per 1,000 residents. Palatine’s ratio is 1.6 officers per 1,000 residents. Adding two more officers won’t change that.

“It’s not a one-size fits all,” Ottesen said.

A Daily Herald analysis of 82 suburban police departments showed 53 agencies are below 1.8 officers for every 1,000 residents, according to their most recent municipal audits. Seven police departments exceeded 2.6 officers per 1,000 residents.

Dan Shaw, regional program manager of the Great Lakes region for the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, said when police departments seek recertification every four years, there is a component of the process that goes into staffing levels.

Department leadership has explain how they determine staffing levels and then defend that practice to the accreditation team.

“It’s left up to each agency how best to account for those numbers,” Shaw said.

Many departments simply use a per capita formula because it is the easiest, he added.

In the suburbs, that can be as high as 7.3 officers per 1,000 residents, which is the case in Oakbrook Terrace. It can less than 1 officer for every 1,000 residents, as is the case in Campton Hills and Lindenhurst, according to audit figures.

At 1.25 square miles, Oakbrook Terrace is one of the smallest suburbs in the analysis. With a staff of 20 sworn officers, that means there’s 16 officers for every square mile. The suburban average is less than 5 officers per square mile. Oakbrook Terrace officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment about the town’s police staffing levels.

For towns like Barrington Hills, which is spread out over 27 square miles, that means less than one officer per square mile. Because the area is mostly open space and the population is only about 4,000 people, village officials believe 16 sworn officers is enough.

Pingree Grove, which has one officer per 1,000 residents, recently approved the addition of five more, growing the ranks from 13 to 18 officers next year.

“The way we got to the 18 figure is we just needed to add more people as the population grew and we were getting more calls,” Village Manager Andy Ferrini said.

Ferrini said cost was also a factor in determining the number of officers, but the village increased its sales tax recently, which should cover “virtually all the budgeted costs for the additional staff.”

Matarese said towns should invest in workload studies for their police departments to help determine proper staffing levels.

“The cost is significantly lower than paying for a police officer’s salary and benefits for one year,” he added.