At a recent Peoria City Council meeting, Peoria Police Chief Art Miller shared that the department is fully staffed and that he feels confident in the level of protection that Peoria PD is providing the city.
When he began his tenure as Police Chief in 2018, the department’s roster of sworn police officers were down nearly 20 percent and the dispatch team was down by 30 percent. Currently, Chief Miller confirms there are about 203 sworn officers in the department, with new hires in the works for officer roles and other positions, including a public information officer.
Pertinent to North Peoria residents, the department confirms that police response time to the Vistancia area is below the national average, which, according to recent reports, is about 10 minutes. This is down from 12 minutes a few years ago, cites Peoria PD.
This improvement was brought on by a variety of changes, including: giving officers equal work loads, decreasing the number of geographical beats, redistricting the department’s beat map, and allowing officers to respond more effectively to calls, according to the department.
Other changes included a new mid-shift for officers (11 a.m. to 9 p.m.), increasing the amount of police officers on the ground during peak times, and increased supervisor oversight in the office, according to recent reports.
To learn more about the Peoria Police Department, visit peoriaaz.gov/government/departments/police.
