Phoenix police to reassign 108 officers to patrol positions

PHOENIX (AP) — Citing ongoing staffing shortages, Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams has announced that the department will reassign 108 officers to patrol positions.

Williams says personnel from specialty details will move to the patrol roles, raising the patrol total to about 1,200 officers.

The Cactus Park Precinct in north Phoenix will be getting 41 reassigned officers, pushing that patrol total to 200.

That precinct serves about 188,000 residents.

The Maryvale/Estrella Precinct will add 17 officers to its 230-person patrol team.

Williams says the police department's response time for emergency calls is longer than the community expects.

She also says this past year saw an increase of nearly 10% in priority one or emergency calls.