Even if more than a year later than anticipated and nearly five years since former Chief Charles Ramsey called for it, the Matrix Consulting Group has delivered a final staffing report for the Bridgeport Police Department.
While there are gaps and concerns rooted in the incomplete or inaccura
te data that the police department shared with Matrix, the document will go far in forecasting the current and future staffing needs of the department for at least the next decade.
Perhaps most surprising among the findings is that, according to the consultants, the Bridgeport Police Department is already satisfactorily funded. Actual staffing is still subpar, but adding 74 new officers in the last two years has bolstered the ranks.
In simplest terms, Matrix recommends a total of 327 sworn officers for 2025. For fiscal year 2025, the City Council-approved budget provides for 356 positions. At the close of calendar year 2024, the BPD had 310 sworn officers, with 22 officers on leave for various reasons. Those overall numbers also include 26 members of Class 47, the most recent Bridgeport recruit class.
The report makes many recommendations, many of which will be subject to collective bargaining. Chief Roderick Porter and his team, however, can proudly assert that they have already begun one of the most important steps: the increased civilianization of many police roles. The Council will continue to support these efforts.
As well, it should be noted that the chief and his department deserve credit for delivering important services to the city, including reduced crime rates in the last couple years and a high solve rate for homicides.
Among the critical recommendations:
a change in assignment structure for most patrol from five days on/ three days off with an eight-hour shift to four-days on/four-days off with a 10-hour shift. The full report outlines the pros and cons for both, though favoring the 10-hour shift model;
the creation of a Community Services Officer (CSO) unit to complement the regular sworn officers to address community and quality of life issues;
staffing increases of the Traffic Division to correct the perception and reality that BPD conducts minimal traffic enforcement; and
significant upgrades in digital case management in the Detective Bureau (referred to as the Investigative Services Division).
Additionally, at the council’s request, Matrix conducted a review of the current labor agreement, resulting in multiple recommendations, especially focused on outdated language, references, and conditions.
Other inconsistencies raise concerns about the department’s ability to handle its own data.
A seemingly small point, but police provided an organizational structure that included two deputy chiefs (DC) and no assistant chiefs of police (ACP). The city budget, however, has provided for one DC (which has been filled) and two ACPs (which have largely gone unfilled) the last two years. The ACP role is barely addressed in the entire report. Why this discrepancy?
Another gap comes from the silence regarding the Social Worker unit (housed and funded in the Health Department). At Council’s behest and funding, the city has hired several social workers to work directly with and complement the city’s 60-plus CIT-certified police. Unless one knows of this unit, this report would shed no light on its existence.
Police overtime is a perennial cost issue in most municipalities. The most recent list of the top 100 earners in the city reinforces the need to rein in overtime spending, since such levels are unsustainable for current and future budgets, which includes the funding of pensions, also both current and future.
Unfortunately, Matrix may not have received accurate data regarding overtime. In a city that loves its parades, only two with a total of 34 overtime assignments in 2023 are included. Secondly, while one officer holds the official assignment for mayoral duty, at least two others are routinely included in those overtime assignments, and that data is missing.
Despite these gaps and concerns, this highly professional report must serve as a critical guideline for assessing our current and future policing needs and support. It must not stay on a shelf, but receive continuous engagement from police, Council, and the administration to deliver the best, most efficient public safety that the city can deliver for its constituents.
Scott Burns is a Bridgeport City Councilman. ...read more read less
