The news that the Sacramento Police Department will receive $9.5 million in federal stimulus dollars means that the department’s specialized units may eventually receive a boost in staffing, according to department spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong.

The department announced earlier this week that it had been selected to receive federal money under the Recovery Act Funding to Support Law Enforcement program. The money will be used to pay the base salary of 35 officers for three years, Sacramento Police Officers Association President Brent Meyer said.

Meyer said he was “ecstatic” about the federal money, noting that the department thought it might have to lay off 67 police officers earlier this year due to the city’s budget problems. The department avoided the layoffs through the union’s negotiation process with the city. However, the department expected that hiring would be stagnant over the next two years, Meyer said.

The 35 new hires will work on patrol in the field because the first assignment for new police officers is patrol, Leong explained. Police Chief Rick Braziel has set the minimum number of officers on patrol at 275, Leong said, and the department has a number higher than that on patrol right now. But 103 officer positions in the department are now vacant.

With more officers working on patrol, the department could choose to open the testing process to fill specialized jobs, including detective positions, according to Leong. Officers currently working at the department could apply to move to a specialized job, he said. Any moves within the department could not take place immediately because the new officers will need to learn their new assignments, he added.

The department’s detectives are overworked, Leong said. Filling more detective positions would allow the department to work on additional investigations it has not been able to pursue, and would also help improve customer service, he said.

Department managers will decide which units should receive additional staff, he noted, and the department has not yet received the federal dollars.

To respond to the failing economy, the department downsized specialized units, including narcotics and traffic, Leong explained. When Braziel joined the department in January 2008, he immediately prepared the department’s budget to face economic hardship, Leong noted.

To brace itself for the recession, the department cut back on overtime and did not fill positions that became vacant, he explained. “For a long time, we had cost savings because we were able to save money by not filling un-budgeted, and even budgeted positions,” Leong said.

*Photo of Chief Rick Braziel courtesy of the Sacramento Police Department.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.