PHOENIX — While dealing with a crisis of their own, Brittney and Brett Durkin are also dealing with Phoenix police’s staffing shortage.
Over the weekend, their 15-year-old son was sucker punched with brass knuckles outside the In-N-Out at Desert Ridge.
“Four of his bottom teeth were knocked out and one of his top front teeth was shoved back in,” Brett Durkin said.
The Durkins are now trying to find who that person was, telling 12News they were advised by police to gather any evidence they could because of staffing.
“The big concern is to is after talking to the cops and taking it out burger management, you know, the cops have so little resources anymore. They said that, not just people that are up to no good, but kids in general, just know that that area isn't patrolled heavily,” Brett Durkin said.
Police are investigating the incident as an aggravated assault. Right now 17 detectives and one civilian investigator are working all the aggravated assaults in the city.
Sgt. Brian Bower with the Public Affairs Bureau for the Phoenix Police Department said it’s common for victims to help gather evidence.
"It doesn't delay the investigation, I think that's really important for people out there to know is even though we may be short amount of manpower out there, that there's a lot of stuff that victims and witnesses can do to help the investigation,” Bower said.
Of the 3,125 sworn positions the Phoenix Police Department is budgeted for, more than 560 are open right now, up from 501 in July of 2022.
“They’re going to constantly fluctuate up and down. But it’s always a promise to know that we had in the month of April, 200 applicants that completed their packet, we had over a dozen laterals complete their packets to come work for Phoenix as well,” Bower said.
In 2023, 49 officers have either retired or resigned from Phoenix police between January and April, according to Phoenix City Council Subcommittee meeting documents.
That’s down from 2022 when 93 officers had retired or resigned from the department in the same four months.
Bower credits a $20,000 pay increase for officers nearly a year ago as helping with recruitment.
“We’re working with social media marketing, where we’re trying to boost the Phoenix brand and explain why Phoenix is the better choice, not just for local people here, but we’re also reaching across the country,” Bower said.
On Wednesday, Phoenix City Council continued their discussion of $1.7 million in contracts to have two separate marketing agencies provide advertising to promote Phoenix Police Department’s open positions to mostly the Southwestern states.
However, law enforcement staffing is a struggle for agencies across the country.
“We have an apex of two trends happening, which is, there is obviously a hostility towards law enforcement residually across the country, and it manifests itself with the legislatures and the city councils that fund their law enforcement agencies to not fund adequately,” Bernard Zapor, retired ATF Special Agent in Charge and current ASU faculty said. “And then secondly, to get people interested in this career.”
Zapor notes the lack of sworn personnel on the streets, in proactive bureaus and investigating leaves officers fatigued across the country, and has ripple effects on victims.
“This is very dangerous for our public safety across the US, it's symptomatic as to what is happening. And of course, it completely erodes our constitutional mandate for justice,” Zapor said.
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