After recent policy changes, Pittsburgh Police will no longer respond personally to calls that do not qualify as “in progress emergencies”.

The dispatcher will assign calls that are not “in progress emergencies” to a telephone recording system. On the city website, it states that “Creation a enhanced Telephone Reporting Unit” (TRU), which operates from 7-3 am daily, including weekends. Dispatch will send reports to the unit for any calls that don’t require an officer response in person. TRU will not be assigned to “In Progress” calls where a suspect is on the scene, crimes where someone may need medical assistance, domestic disputes, calls containing evidence, or when the Mobile Crime Unit is requested to process a crime scene.

The six police stations will also be without desk officers between 3-7 a.m. Call boxes that are linked to 911 were installed instead. On some shifts, only 22 police officers may cover the city.

Pittsburgh Police Chief Larry Scirotto said, “I’m confident that the decisions we make will impact this bureau and the city much better than in the past.”

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Scirotto blamed staffing shortages for the city’s plunge to 740 officers. The city had 835 at the beginning of 2023; a full-time staff is 900.

Scirotto stated that before the changes, approximately one-third (or more) of the officers worked overnight. However, two-thirds (2/3rds) of the calls came between 2 pm and 2 am. “So, we’re over-resourcing one shift and under-resourcing the other,” he explained. “That’s why I thought that this exercise was important.”

Scirotto, a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter, said last week that “we’d usually have seven officers on the road each night in each zone. So, [we] had” about 42 officers. “We cut 12” “I cut 12.”

Bob Swartzwelder of the Fraternal Organization of Police #1 criticized the plan. He said, “They are running out of menpower very, very fast, and they’re becoming very overworked.” However, he acknowledged that 25-30 officers could work during the shift from 3-7 am, but claimed they were performing specialized tasks. He said, “I believe the strategy is to hope and pray that everyone can be based on data at this point.” It may turn out to be right. “It may be catastrophic.”