The Sedona Police Department staffing level is comparable to other Verde Valley communities, but it’s the busiest in the area, according to statistics from police agencies.
SPD received an estimated 16,000 calls for service in 2009.
SPD Cmdr. Ron Wheeler said the department has 14 officers assigned to patrol, and another four assigned to traffic detail.
By comparison, the Cottonwood Police Department responded to 15,074 calls for service in 2009, and its patrol staff is more than 20 officers not including four sergeants.
Sedona now has only two sergeants after recently laying off two.
The Camp Verde Marshal’s Office responded to 8,681 calls for service in 2009, but its staff is smaller than other police agencies in the Verde Valley.
The marshal’s office has 23 sworn law officers, which includes a lieutenant and town marshal.
There are 11 Camp Verde deputies patrolling the streets, and another four deputy positions have been left vacant. Camp Verde usually has one to two officers for every shift.
Beyond the Verde Valley, the Payson Police Department responds to more calls with fewer officers than Sedona or any other Verde Valley community.
Payson Police Lt. Donald Gardner said the department responded to 26,233 calls for service in 2009, and most of those service calls were handled by 14 patrol officers working staggered shifts.
Traffic stops are included in the calls for service.
Gardner said the department has 29 sworn police officers. Sedona has 30. He also said there are always two to three officers patrolling the streets compared to Sedona’s minimum staffing of three officers a shift.
Payson has a population around 15,000 compared to Sedona’s population of about 12,000.
Wheeler said there are many variables that need to be considered when looking at calls for service, though he is not too surprised SPD had the most
calls for service in the Verde Valley.
He said minimum staffing requires three police patrol officers a shift, and usually there are three officers and one sergeant per shift.
“That’s the amount of officers we are allowed to have with the economic situation [the city] is in,” he said. “It’s a challenge, but we have to make it work.”
The primary challenge, he said, is when officers take vacations or use personal time, mentioning a typical employee receives close to six weeks time off a year when adding the two together.
He said one reason Sedona has more calls for service than either Cottonwood or Camp Verde is probably due to tourism. The city welcomes millions of visitors every year, and its officers cannot ignore them to concentrate on the needs of residents.
“Our streets get backed up,” Wheeler said. “The number of vehicles highly impacts us.”
The police commander also said another reason the calls for the service is so high is due to Sedona’s location, adding little support comes to them from the sheriff’s offices of Yavapai and Coconino counties.
“We are kind of like an island out here,” he said. “We rely on ourselves more than the other agencies.”
