PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Police Chief Jason Lando is working to reopen the city’s six police stations to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The effort aims to reverse station closures implemented by former Chief Larry Scirotto.
Under former Chief Scirotto, the Police Department eliminated overnight desk duty officers and closed station doors between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. daily due to staffing shortages.
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Scirotto cited crime data showing fewer major incidents during those hours, keeping officers on road patrol while installing emergency call boxes outside station buildings.
Pittsburgh Police Lando, who was sworn in eight months ago, stated that restoring around-the-clock station operations and assigned desk officers is a key goal as department staffing increases.
“Absolutely. That is, that is 100% our belief,” Lando said regarding keeping stations open around the clock. “As we build up our numbers, one of the things we want to do is build back up those services. We want to get the stations back open and we also want to have designated desk officers.”
Under the previous policy, staffing shortages caused some stations to pull desk officers for field patrol even during daylight hours, leaving no personnel inside to take reports or answer walk-in inquiries.
A local woman who went to file a theft report at the Allentown station found the location closed during the day.
“I was pretty upset because whenever you have something you’re reporting, a lot of times it’s a time-sensitive thing,” the woman said. In a separate incident at the same station, another woman attempting to deliver a protection from abuse order received no response at the door and had to contact a supervisor using an exterior call box.
The operational changes drew public criticism from local law enforcement officials, including Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala.
“Is there any other large city in the country that’s a part-time Police Department,” Zappala said. “I mean does that make any sense to any of you guys. It doesn’t to me. I don’t understand what he’s doing.”
Lando said his immediate focus is ensuring coverage during daytime and afternoon shifts while maintaining emergency response capabilities across the city.
“We’re going to look at our staffing and see if we can accommodate at least on the daylight and afternoon shifts having steady desk officers and getting those stations back open,” Lando said. “But we want to make sure our number one priority is our ability to answer those 911 calls out of the street.”
When Lando left the Pittsburgh Police five years ago to serve as police chief in Frederick, Md., the department had 900 officers.
While the city has budgeted for 800 officers next year, Lando stated that 900 officers is the ideal figure required to support full 24-hour station coverage
The city has budgeted for 800 police officers next year as Lando continues assessing department staffing levels to reopen stations during daylight and afternoon shifts.
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