Pleasanton Traffic Enforcement Unit is made of five officers and one sergeant. Their duties include traffic enforcement, collision investigations, and community engagement such as the Every Fifteen Minutes program. In 2022, traffic officers were frequently reassigned to patrol to fill staffing needs and in December of 2022 the unit was disbanded until staffing levels return to appropriate levels.

The recently released Pleasanton PD annual report noted that the number of citations for 2022 stood at 2,217, while the average for 2019 to 2021 stood at 5,105*. This decrease by over 50% demonstrates the effect of a lack of enforcement and is a direct result of the traffic officers being unable to provide focused traffic enforcement. These statistics have also coincided with an increase in reckless driving and collisions.

Pleasanton PD has been forced to take drastic measures to ensure staffing on patrol which has included an emergency schedule and mandated overtime.

Pleasanton PD operated under an emergency schedule from May until August of 2022. An emergency staffing schedule required longer shifts for many of the PPOA members in an effort to create more overlap between shifts. It also canceled monthly department training and reduced opportunities for officers to seek additional training from outside agencies. Training is a critical component for every officer as a well trained officer is more likely to make better decisions in stressful situations.

Additionally, in December of 2021, Pleasanton PD placed an emergency mandate list into effect which may force an officer to work on a regularly scheduled day off. If mandated when the officer has a trip planned with their family or an important event, they must work the mandated shift or attempt to find a replacement which is often difficult, especially on short notice. This has resulted in officers having to cancel family trips on short notice, incurring the cost and missing out on valuable family time. In 2022, officers were mandated to work for at least 150 shifts.

Based on Pleasanton PD’s compensation package there have been low numbers of lateral applications. When Pleasanton POA was compensated in the upper half of our comparable cities, Pleasanton PD received hundreds of lateral applications. In 2022, Pleasanton PD received 19 lateral applicants. In the first six months of 2023, Pleasanton PD received only 3 lateral applications. As we have a need to hire approximately 25 officers in the next two years, this is not a sustainable number of applicants to achieve these hiring projections.

As a result of reduced applicants, the city has chosen to widen the net of potential applicants by lowering hiring standards.

When applying to be a police officer as a recruit, one of the state-mandated tests is known as the PELLET B. This test gauges an applicant’s reading, writing, and comprehension and can be indicative of an officer’s ability to pass academy training. The PELLET B is graded on a T-Score with an average score being 50. The state minimum requirement for attending an academy is 42.

Historically, Pleasanton PD has held a required PELLET B T-score of 50 or above in order to apply or be hired with the department. Recently, due to the lack of applicants, the City of Pleasanton has lowered the standard to the state minimum of 42. All of Pleasanton’s comparable agencies have a T-score of 46 or above.The PPOA has requested the T-score requirement to be 48 or above as we understand the importance of attracting premier candidates.