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Program could save Mesa police $327K
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Mesa police could save nearly $327,000 and put more officers on the streets if a new set of practices carried out in the department proves successful.
The practices are called Six Sigma and have been used for decades in the private sector as a way of reducing defects. Originally developed by Motorola in the 1980s, Six Sigma helps analyze data to improve a product for a customer, said officer Mark Rees, who has helped the police carry out the program.
For Mesa police, the “customers” are the residents, so the department is focusing on doing what a 2006 survey shows many people want most: lowering crime and putting more officers on the streets.
The Mesa Police Department is one of four agencies nationwide that are participating in a pilot program of Six Sigma in police departments, said Mesa police Sgt. Kathy Kirkham, who has been extensively trained in Six Sigma. She said the program is not costing the department money other than the manpower it takes to run Six Sigma.
To get the most out of the program quickly, officials decided to use the practices to shorten the time it takes for officers to book prisoners into jail, Kirkham said.
“The faster we could get (into the jail), the faster we could be out there working again,” Kirkham said.
Through studies and a week of meetings, officials calculated out that average jail bookings were taking from 36 to 175 minutes depending on the reason the person was being arrested.
In some cases, officers would be off the streets for nearly three hours as they processed a prisoner, Rees said.
After officials applied Six Sigma statistical analysis, they discovered that by doing paperwork in the field, not repeating work, delegating certain tasks to people other than officers and other minor changes, they could save nearly $327,000 in officer salaries or the equivalent of four full-time officers on the streets.
It’s too soon to find out if the changes will actually save as much as promised, but officials said they’re optimistic and plan to conduct an audit in January.
“It helps you make decisions on the facts and not just what you think,” Kirkham said. “We need to get away from doing that here.”
The department is currently undertaking a large Six Sigma project aimed at lowering serious crimes in Mesa. Also, the next project will seek to reduce overtime pay.
Kirkham added, “It’s just to improve our services to our citizens.”
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