Too Many COPS for City Population

Why do you guys need 200 COPS (now down to 176) to police a city of your size?

Every other City with that size population and workload gets the job done within recommended Justice Department Guidelines of 2.3 Officers per 1,000 residents. That means about 120 COPS.

And don't give that bull cause the City swells with visitors in the winter because your workload stays about the same.

Getting down to where you actually belong can save the City about 3 million. You guys need to do the right thing and manage your resources.

Sorry but thats the truth.

Get your facts striaght moron......not only does the city swell with visitors & tourists, but it swells everyday with workers that come into the downtown area and other parts of the city to work, do business, shop, etc. Remember, all lawyers, city & county administrations, courts, etc. are located in and around the downtown area. Without the extra officers (200) they would be short staffed which they are now...........beef up on your facts.

The key here is what is the workload. Calls for service. If other citys with a court house etc (and in some citys their workload is even more) can manage just fine but SPD can"t?.
Numbers don't lie -- you are overstaffed.

The point is others do it better and with less people and less money.

But don't take my word for it. Go to any Police Mangement Book on deployment and compare workload, calls for serrvice, population and see what you get. Look at other citys with the same issues, ask a professional police manager who knows deployment figures.

As I said other citys have the same issues as you stated in your post and get the job done. Now call me names and curse me and see how grown up that makes you feel.

Mr or Mrs Stat Guest,
Since you seem to have all the answers from the "Justice Department" perhaps you can enlighten us on the primary function of a law enforcement officer in his/her area of responsibility? Though I do not work with the SPD,I am in law enforcement and work closely with them. I find your one and only stat thrown out for consumption,ie population,standing alone to be flawed,but I am sure you can enlighten us.I will give you a clue "deter"

Well I think that the latest TV spot says it all, 8 on "duty officers" standing around doing nothing but watching a demonstration. Whoever the individual was that came up with the idea to allow on duty cops to stand around and do nothing for an hour while a picket demanding more police officers was going on across the street is just plain stupid! Talk about sending the wrong message.

Actually the first post is correct.

--Deter crime for sure but its becoming a joke. How many SPD Officers does it take in Sarasota to deter crime for a city of 54,000? Apparently 176. How many to screw in a lightbulb? Apparently 3 or 4 based on your workload. :devil:

I guess you are not paying attention. Yes, the city may have 54,000 residents. But studies have shown and proven that at any onetime, within the city limits, there are upwards of 90,000 plus of people that the officers have to contend with. Those that work in the city, go to the court house, the SAO, the PD, the SSO, the city & county adimistration buildings, tourists, shoppers, etc.
The figures don't lie. And I you have no idea of what's happening if you think the officers have nothing to do.......They answered well over 90,000 calls for service last year........not to mention all the other work the department and the city asks them to do. i.e. attend meetings, do PR, community policing, etc. Not to mention go to court, take people to jail, talk to attorney's, etc.

Yours is an l arguement which does not stand up any longer.

You made the guys point for him. Most cities have the same size have the same police issues. Sarasota is not inique. The question that needs to be looked at is how other cities do it with the same police issues for less money and fewer officers.

From the City of Sarasota Finance Department:

Officers per square mile
Sarasota 13.5
Ft. Myers 5.2
Bradenton 8.5

Average cost per Officer (all ranks with benefits)
Sarasota $134,940
Ft. Myers $113,134
Bradenton $94,583

Officers per 1,000 residents (2.3 recommended)
Sarasota 3.6
Ft. Myers 3.1
Bradenton 2.3

Cost per 1,000 residents
Sarasota $482,590
Ft. Myers $351,128
Bradenton $216,148

Citizen calls for service per Officer
Sarasota 403
Ft. Myers 528
Bradenton 601

And how bout that QUALITY OF LIFE in Ft. Myers and Bradenton there's no issues there. Yeah right. Less cops equals more crime the facts are the facts. Spin it all day long it will get you know where. If you expect a certain quality of life in Sarasota then expect to staff it to the expectations of its citizens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Justice Department Statistics. Haaa

Crime? Are you kidding? You don't even know your own crime stats. Go to FDLE and you will see that the City of Sarasota has lots more and mean lots more crime than Ft. Myers or Bradenton.

You're argument should be that crime is out of control in the City of Sarasota not that others have more crime. You are trying to justify having too many cops remember. The crime out of control issue is a winner for you.

Whoever this individual is that keeps osting on the lack of more needed officers should just go elsewehere. Your stats are false, your notions have no meaning and make no sense. Lets examine a few shall we?


Well I think that the latest TV spot says it all, 8 on "duty officers" standing around doing nothing but watching a demonstration. Whoever the individual was that came up with the idea to allow on duty cops to stand around and do nothing for an hour while a picket demanding more police officers was going on across the street is just plain stupid! Talk about sending the wrong message.

Obviously you didn't pay attention to the story, it was clearly stated that some of the officers used there own time to go and support this idea. Therefore, how do you know that those "8" officers standing on the other side of the street weren't using their earned time, or using their lunch break to be out there? You don't, so you should have probably thought about that statement before making it.

Next;


Deter crime for sure but its becoming a joke. How many SPD Officers does it take in Sarasota to deter crime for a city of 54,000? Apparently 176. How many to screw in a lightbulb? Apparently 3 or 4 based on your workload.

so the next time you see a suspicious person walking around your neighborhood, don't bother calling 911, or the front desk, cause there aren't going to be enough officers working to handle your silly call, that or expect quite a delay in response time.


The question that needs to be looked at is how other cities do it with the same police issues for less money and fewer officers.

Are you out of your mind? Less money, Police officers don't make enough money if you ask me, to put their lives, their families and loved ones lives' on the line, each and everyday, and you want to have them make less. Where is your compassion? I suppose though however; you want a raise at your job?


Average cost per Officer (all ranks with benefits)
Sarasota $134,940 *
Ft. Myers $113,134
Bradenton $94,583

* Not even close to accurate


Citizen calls for service per Officer
Sarasota 403 *
Ft. Myers 528
Bradenton 601


* Once again, not even close, I know for a fact there are numerous officers that have handled well over 1000 calls for service in consecutive years. Try again, statistic hunter.

That's enough for now, I sit here while replying to your ignorant statements and getting more and more upest. Its people like you, who make others dislike law enforcement, when all we are trying to do is make it a better place to live in. And God for bid one of these officers/deputies be killed in the line of duty, you better feel responsible for it.

One thing he got right is the crime stats from FDLE. You are more apt to be a victim of crime in the City of Sarasota than any other city in Sarasota or Manatee County.

The statistics must have been developed by the Obama administration!!!
First of all there is no standard definition of "Calls for Service" so you cannot compare that data. Some agencies count every phone call (to inflate their activity) wheras SPD only counts case numbers. For example, the SCSO taakes a case number every prisoner they are brought by another agency as an "Assist Other Agency." Second, if you use the standard multiplier of adding 33% to an officer's salary to determine the "cost" of each officer then the AVERAGE SPD officer makes about $100,000 a year acording to the data. PLeaseeeeee!

This "report" was completed by finance people without consulting any law enforcement officers. It is obvious that the repoprt was done to please those who want to reduce the SPD's budget. It is unfortunate that they lack competence and honesty.

If they want to really cut the budget... prove it and stop supplying an officer for each City Commission meeting.

And how bout that QUALITY OF LIFE in Ft. Myers and Bradenton there's no issues there. Yeah right. Less cops equals more crime the facts are the facts. Spin it all day long it will get you know where. If you expect a certain quality of life in Sarasota then expect to staff it to the expectations of its citizens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Justice Department Statistics. Haaa


Ok people those number are up to date and we never skew statistics to get grants and more people. Hell with all that money I am just gonna quit today. Hey thanks for those accurate numbers for a minute I almost thought they were real. Now go down to your local library and look up REALITY