11 Investigates: Pittsburgh police staffing issues lead to plea for help from other municipalities

PITTSBURGH — For several years now, 11 Investigates has been highlighting staffing concerns in the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police.

The agency is down nearly 200 officers from four years ago, and it has now reached a boiling point.

Officers on the South Side have been overwhelmed by crowds during the past two weekends, and they’ve been forced to call in officers from surrounding municipalities to help with crowd control.

11 Investigates obtained the dispatch tape from one of those calls for assistance.

“There is approximately 1,000 to 1,500 people in between 13th and 17th (streets),” said the Pittsburgh Police officer on the dispatch call. “Can you see if you can get me a few boroughs to start this way to assist with our push, please?”

Police Officers from a handful of surrounding and nearby departments — including Monroeville, Shaler and Penn Hills — all answered the call for help, responding to East Carson Street on Pittsburgh’s South Side.

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It’s a popular entertainment district with a number of bars and restaurants. Over the years, there have been problems with fights, criminal activity and shootings. A number of bars and restaurants have closed down during the past several years, but it’s still a big nighttime attraction.

While there have been some incidents during the past year, it’s been relatively quiet compared to previous years.

Pittsburgh City Councilman Bob Charland blamed the overflowing crowds on an influx of underage teens.

“These are people that are not coming down to go bars and restaurants, they’re not going to entertainment venues,” Charland said. “What they’re doing is coming and seeing the street as a venue, and they’re hanging out on the street.”

Pittsburgh Police Officer Union President Bob Swartzwelder said calling in outside police departments in a situation like this is unprecedented.

“I’ve never seen us have to call outside agencies in my entire career unless it was a major preplanned event like the G20 (summit of world leaders) or the Major League Baseball All-Star game,” Swartzwelder said.

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A couple of years ago, the city hired Allegheny County police officers to patrol downtown after an uptick in crime, but the union filed an unfair labor practice.

The city stopped using county police, and then opened the downtown public safety center and staffed it with Pittsburgh police officers.

Swartzwelder said he’s not surprised officers from outlying municipalities were called in over the past two weekends to assist with the crowds on East Carson Street.

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Swartzwelder has been sounding the alarm about staffing issues for the past several years. The city has seen a loss of nearly 200 officers.

“This administration has completely emaciated this police department, and they keep telling everybody in the city, all is well, and it’s not well and it’s going to get worse,” Swartzwelder said.

Swartzwelder said officers are leaving for better-paying jobs in other surrounding departments as resignations continue to outpace retirements, and he said the department hasn’t done enough to recruit new officers.

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Now, the use of outside agencies is raising questions and concerns.

“I want to know what the liability issue is if something were to go wrong with the officer from another municipality. Are they representing Pittsburgh police when they are within out limits?” said Councilman Anthony Coghill, who indicated he plans to speak with the Monroeville police chief about their involvement.

11 Investigates has learned the Pittsburgh Police Bureau is now considering reassigning officers from the investigative and administrative branches to patrol to deal with the staffing shortages, which will only increase during the summer vacation season.

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While councilman Charland agreed that more police are needed on the South Side and throughout the city, he said police are only part of the solution. He’s also reaching out to businesses on East Carson Street for help.

“Myself and (Pittsburgh Police) Commander (Jeff) Abraham will be going through talking to the food establishments, asking them to voluntarily close earlier at least for the summer so we can try to get the street cleared more efficiently,” said Charland.

Pittsburgh Public Safety sent the statement below regarding the staffing challenges"

“While Police staffing is a challenge for most major police departments on a national and international level, the Pittsburgh Police Bureau, along with Public Safety leadership, is actively working on a number of initiatives to address recruitment and retention of officers.

• “Pittsburgh Police now employs a full-time recruitment officer—to focus on expanding recruitment efforts and ensure that officers receive comprehensive training.
• “The bureau received major grant funding last year that is being utilized to develop a robust and strategic recruitment plan that includes the development of a promotional video, enhanced training opportunities, and other efforts.
• “In collaboration with the FOP, we have worked to institute a lateral hiring policy which allows officers coming in from other jurisdictions to join PBP at a salary commiserate with their previous years of service.
• “Additionally, we have also introduced a mentorship program and are hiring civilian positions where applicable.

“As we continue to work towards overcoming staffing challenges, we are encouraged to see large numbers of people in our recruitment pipeline. At this time, we have 165 individuals who have progressed to the physical agility test scheduled for next week—one of the largest cohorts we have seen in recent history.

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“Pittsburgh Police and Public Safety leadership are well aware of our ongoing staffing challenges. We are exceedingly grateful to the men and women of Pittsburgh Police who remain highly dedicated to the bureau’s mission of protecting and upholding the safety of Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods. Our officers routinely display the highest levels of professionalism, are active in working to build trust within the community, and consistently strive to provide the most robust service to all residents. We applaud their continued efforts under the current circumstances.

“Lastly, I can confirm that Police leadership is exploring available options of shifting officers within the bureau to bolster patrol shifts during the busy summer months when we have an increased number of officers away on vacation, combined with our usual influx of large summer crowds.”

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