After some Pittsburgh City Council members raised concerns Wednesday about the dwindling number of officers in the city’s police bureau, Mayor Ed Gainey announced two new police academy classes are planned.

The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police now has 852 officers, according to Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz. She said the bureau’s budgeted staffing level is 900, though the bureau “usually operates above that number.”

The mayor’s office said the new police classes should boost the bureau’s numbers.

The first class, expected to get underway sometime this fall, will train officers who have received basic police training elsewhere but need to learn Pittsburgh’s policies and the culture of policing in the city.

Officers from this class would be ready to begin serving in the bureau within about 12 to 14 weeks.

The second class, expected to start in the spring, is for new recruits and takes about 11 months to complete.

The mayor’s office didn’t say how many people are expected to take the classes.

“At this point, it would be premature for us to estimate on the class sizes,” said Gainey spokeswoman Maria Montaño.

Before Gainey’s announcement, Council President Theresa Kail-Smith raised concerns at a City Council meeting about police staffing levels.

“It’s getting to a point where it’s concerning,” Kail-Smith said.

She said she has safety concerns about the department being short-staffed.

“It’s my understanding that we have a lot of young officers on the streets working a lot of forced overtime,” she said, adding that overworked, tired people with guns are “not a great combination.”

Kail-Smith said she had been aware the bureau wasn’t staffed to full capacity, but she “didn’t realize it was as serious as it may be.”

She called for a meeting to further discuss police staffing with public safety officials. A date hadn’t been set as of Wednesday.

Cruz acknowledged that many officers are working longer hours and increased overtime, but she added, “There are no immediate security or safety concerns for residents and visitors.”

Acting Police Chief Thomas Stangrecki said officers “have never wavered in their duties, in spite of working extra hours amid lower-than-budgeted staffing levels.”

“By hiring additional personnel, the bureau will be able to improve services and create additional opportunities for officers to more fully engage with the community,” Stangrecki said.

In announcing the new police classes, Gainey said he hoped the new classes and officers would “help us begin to build out the right type of policing so that our city can become the safest and most welcoming city in America.”

“Our public health-based approach to ending violence in our city does not replace, nor is it in conflict with, law enforcement,” the mayor said. “Creating safety for all requires a range of strategies, including the presence of people trained to confront life-threatening violence.”

He said his plan for peace in the city requires a “police force that reflects our city and our values.”

Pittsburgh City Council in June authorized a $180,000 study to analyze the police bureau’s staffing needs. The last time such a study was conducted was in 2005.

The study will offer recommendations including where officers should be stationed, what types of work officers should do and what the ratio between police and civilian workers in the bureau should be.

Jake Pawlak, director of the Office of Management and Budget, said the study would not impact plans for the police classes.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)