Manpower Shortage - Again

We're going to pick this comment apart, because we just don't remember it this way:

• Sorry but crime is down, and I hate to inform you but there is no creative writing going on, Sgts. aren't telling beat officers to kill crime in their reports.
  

There's lots of creative writing going on. Burglaries are downgraded to criminal trespasses. Aggravated Batteries are written down to Simples. We understand that you can't hide dead bodies, but you can sure hide a lot of property crime if you try. They are actually talking about starting up the old Burglary mission team again - and that wouldn't be happening unless someone saw a spike in Burglaries.

• Gentrification has had alot to do with it, knocking down the projects sent most to the south side(ares2) into areas once considered nice middle class black areas, and next thing you know there is dope dealing, shooting, fighting over turf. 012, 013, 021, all once busy districts have gentrifyed, sending all their crap into neighboring areas, 009, 008, 014, 025, 017 016, it has gotten busier in all those places now.

Gentrification has also contributed to the rising property crime in that the "pioneers" are becoming victims more often. It takes a number of years for rising property taxes to force the original inhabitants of a neighborhood out. Sometimes a decade or more. We'll say you called this one close.

• Modern medicine has alot to do with it too.

A bit, yeah.

• We have never had 13,500 officers, that is the total amount of sworn personnel of all ranks. Stop with the conspriracies and creating writing etc. it's not happening. The men and women who go out and do the job every day deserve a great deal of credit, under extremely difficult conditions.

Here's where we have problems with your argument. We remember a time when we were number 12,300 in the city. Back then, we were told that with dicks, sergeants, lieutenants, captains and exempts, we totaled 16,000. We also remember sitting roll call with two wagon crews, all the beat cars up, and this was on midnights. Afternoons ran a dozen rapids and occasionally, three wagons.

We think this 13,500 number is a recent invention and we really have to question the people who keep tossing it out there. A few posts back, we had someone telling us about the District Sergeant office with the sheets posted from a decade ago - there are less cops on the street and they can't ALL be hidden at HQ and in the Units. We figure we're down at least 1,000, maybe 1,500.

Debate welcome.