Six additional full-time employees were approved Tuesday for the Carlsbad Police Department, an expansion Police Chief Christie Calderwood said will reduce response times and help handle up to 40 special events and 400 traffic complaints annually.
Response times for top priority calls have steadily increased from an average of 4 minutes and 49 seconds in 2021 to 6 minutes and 45 seconds in 2024, according to the Police Department.
The number of calls for service fluctuates at a little more than 100,000 annually, but increased by 5% in the two years from 2022 to 2024, when the newest total was 108,746. Meanwhile, other responsibilities unrelated to calls, such as community meetings, homeless outreach efforts and conducting e-bike education courses for young people, have increased for officers.
Technology also takes a bigger bite out of officers’ time. The increasing use of body-worn cameras, theft trackers, license plate readers, home surveillance systems and more all help to solve crimes. But the down side is they all add to the time spent on cases.
“We are at a point … where additional personnel are needed,” Calderwood told the Carlsbad City Council, which approved the increase unanimously at its meeting Tuesday. “The requests before you tonight are not desires; these requests are immediate needs.”
The request includes three patrol officers, a traffic and special events sergeant, an internet crimes against children detective, and a digital forensics specialist. The positions also will help the department reduce overtime and improve the quality of life for employees, Calderwood said.
Carlsbad’s child abuse detective has an “extreme caseload” of 74 open cases and 80 to 100 additional reports that need to be reviewed at any given time, she said. Many of the cases are sensitive and include a large amount of digital evidence.
Most of the initial child abuse reports are linked to Carlsbad based on the internet protocol address, commonly known as the “IP address,” and additional work is needed to determine whether a crime took place in Carlsbad, the police chief said.
“There is coordination with multiple agencies that must take place to effectively work these cases,” she said. “Online exploitation cases need a detective with special training.”
The digital forensics specialist is the only non-sworn employee on the list. That person would be someone trained to testify in court about the process of downloading, extracting and investigating the digital evidence from a variety of sources now common in almost every crime.
Recruiting and, in some cases, training the employees will begin immediately but could take up to six months, Calderwood said.
Covering the Police Department’s increased costs will be an additional $690,000 from the general fund for fiscal 2024-25 that is well underway. An additional $1.2 million will be needed from the fiscal 2025-26 budget for salaries and benefits, according to a staff report.
Council members praised police administrators for their work in preparing the request.
“I really appreciate how you laid out why these are our needs,” said Councilmember Priya Bhat-Patel.
“I’m glad that you went over again why these positions are so necessary,” said Councilmember Teresa Acosta. “I am so supportive of making sure that we have a fully staffed Police Department, and very proud of the work that we do.”
Cities in San Diego County averaged 1.32 sworn officers for every 1,000 residents in fiscal 2023-24, according to the San Diego Association of Governments.
During that year, Carlsbad had 1.14 officers per 1,000 residents, making it fourth from the bottom in the region. Coronado led the list with 2.02 per 1,000, followed by the city of San Diego, with 1.48 officers per 1,000 residents.
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