Utica Police layoffs and demotions become a reality

The Utica Police Department layoffs have become a reality. Twelve police officers have been laid off while 23 have been demoted.

Utica Police Chief, Mark Williams is now bringing up issues on how this will affect public safety.

The community is mostly concerned with how quickly police can respond to calls and again they are worried about a potential rise in crime.

Chief Williams says these cuts are too much and too soon.

"We have to keep the police to keep law and order. It's not the wild, wild west anymore," says one Utica resident.

Most Utica residents are not too happy with the recent layoffs made within the Utica Police Department.

Chief Williams says cuts went even deeper than originally proposed without the police department's input.

But, he says they're going to try to make it work.

"I have a very young police department that needs guidance and supervision. That is the area that I am lacking in the most," says Chief Williams.

With more than twenty officers being demoted, Chief Williams says it may save a few thousand dollars, but they will pay it back in overtime due to the need of supervision.

Chief Williams also says he hopes the layoffs do not affect response time and vital back-up needed for other officers.

Some Utica residents also seem to be raising the same concerns.

"More continued violence and crime if you don't have enough guys on the street. As it is now, it's often hard to get a response," says Patrick Fish.

"Crime is going to go up because there's not going to be enough police out on the streets anymore," says Robert Dingle.

But, one Utica resident says it may be soon to tell if the layoffs will have a negative impact.

"It's hard to really predict and say how many they should have on the police force according to the crime or the areas that they are having problems with," says Valentina Prylepa.

Chief Williams says downsizing a police department most likely results in a rise in crime. But, he says time will only tell.