Dallas chief plans command staff cuts to bolster patrols

 DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas police chief says she plans to demote a significant number of assistant and deputy chiefs and detectives and use those personnel to expand the number of officers working the streets.

Chief U. Renee Hall said Monday that she’ll cut the command staff from nine assistant chiefs to two or three and deputy chiefs from 14 to half that or fewer.

She said the shake-up is necessary because the department had lost nearly 500 officers over the past 12 months. Many of those resigned or retired in the face of uncertainties surrounding the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System fund.

The department’s response times to top-priority calls has gone from about 7½ minutes to 8½ minutes in those 12 months.