The Economics of Police Services
One of the most important services Clayton provides is also one of the hardest to scale down: local police service. The City’s policy is to have no fewer than two officers on duty at all times. Some may ask why that is necessary in a small city with a low crime rate. We are fortunate to enjoy that low crime rate, but police staffing cannot be built around the average call. Police work is unpredictable. A noise complaint, traffic stop, welfare check, or family dispute can quickly become more serious. An officer may encounter a combative person, a mental health crisis, a domestic violence situation, an arrest, a medical emergency, or a scene requiring traffic control or immediate aid. Two officers on duty does not mean every call requires two officers. It means the City has enough coverage to respond safely when something changes. One officer may engage with the person involved while the other provides cover, manages the scene, or assists with an arrest. Backup may be available, but it is not always immediate.
Policing is 24/7. With two officers on duty at all times, the City needs 336 officer hours every week. Clayton budgets for 10 sworn officers. At 40 hours per officer, that equals 400 officer hours per week. At first glance, that looks like a 64-hour weekly buffer – but that buffer gets used quickly. Officers take vacation, get sick, go to court, get training. There are holidays, and injuries, and special events.
Depending on tenure, each officer receives between 2.5 and 5.5 weeks of vacation per year. On average, that is approximately 30 officer hours per week. Holidays and an average of one week of sick time per officer are another 25 officer hours per week. That leaves about 9 hours of weekly buffer before training, court appearances, special events, administrative work, injuries, or vacancies. Even a fast hiring process can take months. A more realistic timeline can be four to six months. One vacancy could remove roughly 40 officer hours per week. That alone turns a small buffer into a deficit.
This is the challenge. The minimum staffing is fixed but the available staffing can change quickly. With a small department, one vacancy, one injury, one extended leave, or one major incident can immediately affect the schedule. It is also why police services are difficult to reduce incrementally. In some City services, a reduction may mean fewer hours, a longer project timeline, or a lower level of maintenance. Police staffing does not work the same way. We are at the minimum required, and that schedule has to be covered every hour of every day.
That small remaining margin matters when we talk about the City’s broader finances. Police service is one of the City’s largest and most important expenses, but it is also one of the least flexible. As such, future funding shortfalls would not be able to be absorbed through police staffing reductions. As a result, future cuts would likely have to come from somewhere else, including maintenance, landscaping, parks, facilities, infrastructure, or administrative capacity.
There has also been discussion in the past about contracting out police services. Clayton has evaluated that option, and it would be substantially more expensive. It would also likely result in a lower level of service. The Sheriff’s Office serves many communities and covers a large area. But they are farther away, not dedicated solely to Clayton, and not directly accountable to City staff in the same way our own department is. Cost is also a major factor. Clayton’s police wages are currently among the lowest in the County. Sheriff’s Office wages are substantially higher. Contracting out would not eliminate the cost of policing. It would change the model, likely increase the cost, and reduce local control.
The bottom line is that Clayton’s officers provide excellent, responsive service at a cost that is difficult to beat. They know the community. They respond quickly. They help keep Clayton safe. And they do it within a very tight staffing model. The schedule works, but it works with very little room for error.
