PHOENIX — The Phoenix Police Department is changing who it sends to certain calls.
Starting soon, the agency will use police assistants instead of officers to respond to found property, abandoned vehicles, parking complaints and vehicle collisions where there’s minor damage and no injuries.
For months, the agency has been looking for ways to respond to calls while dealing with a lack of manpower.
"When you're getting less officers trained, you're going to have more problems on the streets,” said Brian Perry, a Phoenix resident.
Perry supports the decision to use police assistants in situations where officers are not needed.
Additionally, the city has allocated about $800,000 to pay for eight more assistants and new equipment.
The department and researchers at Arizona State University looked at different call types to decide which requests police assistants could go to instead of officers.
"I wouldn't mind if a civilian showed up if my smoke detector went off and there's no problem or because someone parked in my parking spot and they're mad because I told them to move,” Perry said.
"That’s a waste of the officer's time,” he added.
ASU professor Michael Scott said the public should know police assistants are capable of handling the new responsibilities.
"It's important to recognize a police assistant is a trained professional,” he said.
“It's not lesser service...it's service by a competent professional who doesn't require all of the authority, and all of the training that's required by a fully sworn police officer,” Scott said.
According to the department, the four calls being given to police assistants make up roughly 25,000 to 30,000 calls for service every year.
Scott said this will free up officers to respond to more serious crimes.
