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Syracuse City Auditor Alexander Marion and Chief of Police Joe Cecile came together in downtown Syracuse Monday afternoon to present Marion’s inaugural “Sworn to Protect” report, an audit analyzing the Syracuse Police Department’s staffing.

In the press conference, Marion highlighted the report’s key recommendations for the department, such as urging the transition of certain city roles from SPD to other departments and the use of new resources. The audit specifically recommended shifting parking enforcement and mental health services to city authorities outside the department.

Marion’s report also recommends that the city address police staffing and overtime cost concerns by pursuing “civilianization,” the moving of non-law-enforcement-based roles within a police department to civilian employees.

“We started working on that in 2021 … to see if we could figure out a way where officers didn’t have to respond to every call that came in that had some type of mental illness … that (police) weren’t the experts in dealing with,” Cecile said.

The report was first authorized by the Syracuse City Common Council in 2022, Marion said. The council allocated $300,000 toward the City Auditor’s office to evaluate SPD staffing, aiming to find the most effective way to use the department’s $60 million budget, the report states. The office worked with Matrix Consulting Group, an external agency that conducts studies for city organizations across the country, to determine how to best optimize police resources.

Cecile said that several roles the city hopes to bring out of SPD are not best suited to optimize sworn-in police officers’ expertise. In the report, Marion recommends that civilians fill roles in SPD’s records and human resources departments, among other administrative positions.

Throughout the conference, Marion repeatedly emphasized that identifying an ideal number of sworn-in police officers was not the best way to optimize department resources, as there is “no magic number” to do so.

A press release from Marion’s office sent hours after the afternoon conference added that crossing guard roles will be transitioned out of SPD and moved under the discretion of another city department or local public school district.

As the school year started, multiple intersections in the city did not have an adequate crossing guard presence, Cecile said. As a result, he said many police officers with higher positions filled in for those who were absent.

“There’s a number of different ways that we could expand the role between service officers, having them be a bridge,” Marion said. “The leadership of the Syracuse Police Department knows that the future rests with their ability to be nimble, agile and plan for the future.”

Prior to Monday’s press conference, Cecile also said he received reports on the department radio that one SPD sergeant tasked with overseeing crossing guards had to cover for absent personnel. The police chief said he believes these roles are not an adequate use of high-ranking officers’ time.

Along with shifting roles out of the department, the Sworn to Protect report recommends alterations to 911 call categorization and triage. One primary change includes adjusting the priority levels of different criminal offenses to send the appropriate police response, Marion said. SPD will also introduce additional screening for mental health-related calls.

Currently, SPD works with the Department of Emergency Communications’ 911 Center when categorizing 911 calls on a one-to-three priority scale, the report states. Marion said he recommends SPD to recategorize calls in its priority system and make the categories more specific.

“(Additional priority levels) may also give responding officers better information and allow for a more careful deployment of limited resources, and a better accounting of the types of calls being received,” the report reads.

The report also suggests a new case management system for the department, calling for more modern software to increase efficiency and productivity, Marion said. It includes an SPD-specific civil service list, which will help the department recruit more Syracuse-based police officers.

Published on September 10, 2024 at 1:33 am

Contact Zaara: zamalik@syr.edu