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Glendale police and fire under intense review

Posted at 5:01 PM, Apr 12, 2016
and last updated 2016-04-12 21:01:41-04

It's a report you, the taxpayer, paid for.

It's more than 100 pages and it examines every inch of how the Glendale police and fire departments work for you.

"Obviously, we can't achieve all these recommendations in year one, but now we have an outline of where we want to be," said Glendale Council Member Lauren Tolmachoff during a special meeting Tuesday.

The report outlines the great work Glendale police and firefighters do given the resources they have.

Staffing is an issue at both departments, the report shows.

The fire department was forced to cut staff during the recession, and has since staffed some headquarter roles with firefighters.

That means there are fewer available firefighters on the streets.

Response times, on average, for medical and fire calls, is 6:44, which is in line with city coals and national standards.

"It’s important for you all to understand the reasons the numbers are in place are for firefighter safety, and to provide the best possible outcome for our customers or in this case, our citizens," said Glendale Fire Chief Terry Garrison.

The evaluation report shows breathing equipment for firefighters is getting old and will have to be replaced soon.

There's also a growing need for additional fire stations on the westside of Glendale.

Right now, the fire department has no fund set aside for this additional expense.

The police department was also under the microscope.

The report shows 911 calls are not being answered as quickly as some national standards.

Across the board, the report finds the police department is missing the response time goal when it comes to responding to calls for service.

The report blames a lack of staffing for the rising response times, and the rising crime rate.

The Chief says the report is an opportunity to make things better for police service.

"This is simply our effort, to continuously improve and that involves asking for additional resources we will be doing that," said Glendale Police Chief Debora Black.

 

City leaders say this is the start of a 5-year plan to overhaul the police and fire department response.