RAYTOWN, Mo. -- Crimes rates are on the rise in Raytown, according to the latest FBI data. At the same time, the police department is bracing for a $2.7 million cut to its proposed budget.
"The heart and soul of a police department is being able to patrol the streets of their city," Alderman Eric Teeman, who worked on the budget cuts, said.
Teeman and the rest of the alderman specifically requested that no officers be removed from the streets as the city scrambles to stay out of the red.
41 Action News placed a call to Raytown Captain Dyon Harper on Friday afternoon. The message was not returned until late Friday night, when Captain Harper said Raytown's patrol division has 36 staff members, but the city says only 25 of those are patrol officers.
"The picture that a very small number of sworn officers patrol our city is simply not true," the Raytown Police Department said in a statement posted to social media.
Captain Harper's information contradicts the number provided by the city on Thursday to 41 Action News and to the public in a letter about budget cuts. Those communications showed just 25 patrol officers on staff.
"What we've got is a very weighted city hall, but our patrol is very slim statistically compared to other communities," Joe Creamer, a former alderman, said.
Data supports that claim. Despite having the largest budget and biggest staff, Raytown has fewer patrol officers than cities of similar size.
Raytown's crime rates also tower over those in the other two communities. The below data comes from the FBI's 2016 Uniform Crime Report.
41 Action News left a message with the Raytown Police Department to find out why its patrol numbers are lower than those in other cities.
On Thursday, a spokesperson said the chief will not talk about any potential staffing cuts until the department revises its proposed budget.
