Pasadena Police Department Faces Staffing Shortages, Pushes Recruitment

Pasadena’s Police Department is working to address staffing shortages, with current authorized positions down 15 full-time equivalents from where they were 20 years ago, when staffing stood at 262 officers.

Police Chief Eugene Harris detailed this challenge during a budget presentation to the Public Safety Committee on May 7, 2025, outlining recruitment efforts and plans to restore positions that had been suspended in recent years.

The department currently has eight vacancies plus the five unbudgeted positions, creating a total of 13 positions to fill, Harris reported.

Additionally, 10 officers are currently out on leave, further straining resources.

City officials noted that the department has struggled to maintain staffing levels due to a combination of retirements, officers leaving for other agencies, and difficulty in quickly replacing specialized positions.

“We can lose personnel within a week or two and it sometimes takes months to get them back up to running, get the next one, the FTE (full time employee), up to speed,” Harris explained.

Councilmember Tyron Hampton questioned the deployment timeline for critical equipment, including the signal sidearm technology that was purchased three years ago but remains unimplemented.

Chief Harris acknowledged the delay and committed to providing a specific timeline for deployment.

Councilmember Steve Madison expressed concern about the staffing shortages and rising overtime costs, which have reached over $8 million.

“You say, gosh, for that we could fund a number of new police officer positions and have those people full-time rather than maybe a tired officer who’s stressed and who’s hearing at home, ‘why aren’t you home more?’” Madison said.

The department has expanded its recruitment efforts, including reaching out to other states, military veterans, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities, police officials said.

Chief Harris detailed a plan to take their “recruitment and application apparatus on the road” to expedite the hiring process by conducting tests and physical agility assessments off-site.

The department’s total budget is $121 million, with $111 million coming from the general fund.

A police department budget expert detailed an $8.8 million increase in personnel costs (9.4%), primarily due to MOU pension medical benefits and a classification and compensation study. Services and supplies increased by $527,000, while internal services rose by $1.2 million, including costs for IT services, building maintenance, and fleet maintenance. General liability increased significantly by $1.8 million (nearly 60%) based on a three-year average of claims related to the police department.

The presentation also highlighted recent accomplishments, including the acquisition of 13 long-awaited vehicles replacing 17 to 19 year old models, implementation of a 3D crime scene scanner, and deployment of Axon body-worn cameras.

Chief Harris also requested a $72,000 enhancement for equipment to allow a mechanic to be stationed at the police station rather than transporting vehicles to the city yards for repairs.

Several technological initiatives are planned for the coming year, including the development of an Active Intelligence Center (AIC), expansion of automated license plate readers, and modernization of the department’s helicopter fleet.

The AIC would serve as a high-tech hub to monitor and analyze criminal activity in real time.

“It will definitely take us to the next level as far as this is concerned, especially with the Olympics and some of the other items that we’re going to have coming up here in the very near future,” Chief Harris explained.

He noted that the department’s current Bell OH-58 helicopters date back to the early 1970s, with parts becoming increasingly difficult to find. The department plans to leverage asset forfeiture funds to help purchase two new helicopters over the next 10 years and has already acquired new cameras that allow the helicopters to fly at higher elevations.

Committee members also discussed the Park Safety Specialists program, which currently has six vacancies out of 11 authorized positions.

The department has created a new “Senior Park Safety” position to improve supervision and span of control. The specialists operate mainly during daytime hours through winter, with expanded hours until 10 p.m. during summer months.

The committee heard about the department’s three HOPE teams that work with homeless individuals, each including a clinician from Los Angeles County Health Department. These teams operate Monday through Saturday on varied shifts.

Councilmember Madison suggested requesting a fourth team, though Chief Harris noted challenges in obtaining additional county clinicians.

“They’re dealing with the same issues that we’re dealing with with regard to numbers and resource allocation,” Harris said. “Everybody in the County, the agencies in the County are looking to put a version of a team out there, and the County is trying to produce enough clinicians to support the effort.”

Committee members also discussed potential partnerships with Metro regarding policing of light rail stations and surrounding areas. Chief Harris expressed concerns about jurisdictional issues, noting that Metro is attempting to establish its own police department.

Mayor Victor Gordo suggested exploring concurrent jurisdiction arrangements to enhance safety around transit stations.

“I do think that there’s an opportunity for all of us and by all of us, I mean all of the cities in the corridor, to work with Metro and augment policing, not just on the trains but [in] and around the stations themselves,” Gordo said.

The department preparing for Pasadena’s role in the 2028 Olympics. Chief Harris sits on the security board for LA 28 and noted that Pasadena will host major Olympic events requiring special preparation.

The department plans to send officers to international events to observe security measures that could be implemented locally.

During public comment, a community member raised concerns about privacy implications of the proposed AIC, suggesting that the department should engage with community stakeholders before implementing such surveillance technology. They referenced Department of Justice guidance recommending community engagement prior to launching real-time crime centers.