Half as many police cars as usual will be patrolling Vallejo streets beginning Saturday, police said Wednesday.

Two Vallejo police officers ride together in a car during a recent police operation. Officers will soon start riding two to a car to police Vallejo. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald) (Chris Riley/Times-Herald)

"We don't have enough officers out there to cover each other if they get in an incident, so we're doubling units. ... Due to the crime rate, officers need to have a cover unit with them," Vallejo Police Lt. Abel Tenorio said.

The Vallejo Police Department will begin requiring patrol officers to ride two to a car for their own safety, halving the number of cars on the streets, he said.

The department has 95 sworn officers, though the figure continues to dwindle as officers retire and leave for other departments under the threat of layoffs.

Police Chief Robert Nichelini approved the new staffing plan last week, Tenorio said.

The decision comes a week after the department announced it would suspend its K-9 and SWAT program for 90 days to meet the city's budget. The Vallejo Police Department jointly operates the SWAT team with the Benicia Police Department.

Going to two-person patrol cars is not expected to save the department much, if any, money, Tenorio said.

Response times are expected to increase because there will be fewer patrol cars on the streets, Tenorio said.

However, because responding units no longer necessarily need to wait for backup to arrive, officers could enter a potentially dangerous crime scene faster, Tenorio said.

At least six -- and up to 10 or 12 officers -- are on patrol at any time. Most are on duty during early evening hours over the weekend. Vallejo continues to be divided into eight patrol beats, or specific areas of patrol, though now there will be fewer cars to cover each beat.

It's been decades since Vallejo officers doubled up in patrol cars, police said.

The police force's declining visibility is also a concern for the department.

"There is less visibility, obviously. Even officers driving around at night are a deterrent," Tenorio said.

Fewer patrol cars mean fewer chances for people to flag down passing police officers, said Detective Mat Mustard, president of the Vallejo Police Officers' Association.

"(Getting flagged down is) not as frequent as calls for service, but it does happen," Mustard said.

The Vallejo K-9 and SWAT units will be suspended July 31.