AGENDA #3

BUDGET WORKING PAPER

TO:                  W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

FROM:            Major Brian Curran, Police Department

SUBJECT:      Chapel Hill Police Department’s 2006-2007 Budget Request

DATE:            March 8, 2006

The purpose of this budget working paper is to highlight and explain add list items for the Chapel Hill Police Department’s 2006-2007 budget request.

BACKGROUND

The Chapel Hill Police Department has identified a need for additional personnel and equipment, including software, in order to improve police services for the town in general and the Downtown area in particular.

DISCUSSION

Creation of Downtown Police District   $481,624

We are requesting seven additional police officer positions which would form the core of a Downtown District patrol unit.  One position would be reclassified from Police Officer to Lieutenant and one would be reclassified from Police Officer to Sergeant. These seven officers would combine with the five officers currently assigned to the downtown area to form a 12 officer squad that would be responsible for a newly created district that would encompass the downtown business district.

We believe such a squad is both necessary and desirable in order to address safety and security concerns currently being expressed by downtown area residents, business owners and visitors. These concerns are also supported by crime report data. While reported crime in Chapel Hill as a whole in the first two quarters of the year was down 15 percent from a year ago, crime in the downtown area was up. (156 major crimes reported in the first six months of this year compared to 135 major crimes reported during a similar period last year).

The unit’s patrol area would range from the area of Robertson Lane to the Carrboro city limit and from Rosemary Street to Franklin Street. The unit would work out of the University Square Substation. We envision that this squad would provide seven-day coverage, averaging approximately twenty hours a day. Current patrol platoons would cover the Downtown District during the early morning hours to ensure that there are no gaps in coverage. The downtown officers would be deployed primarily as foot patrol and bike officers in order to increase both visibility and personal contact with business people and visitors. Supervisors would schedule themselves as needed in order to deal with anticipated high call load times. Officer assignments would include two officers working during normal business hours, one on the East end and one on the West end. Remaining officers would be assigned as needed in response to crime trends, citizen and business owner concerns, special events, and other times where experience has shown us that public safety is a concern. Schedules would be flexible and would emphasize coverage during evening and late night hours. Work schedules could be revised as needs change.

To support these officers, we are asking for one patrol vehicle, six fully equipped police bicycles and six hand-held computers to be used by officers in the field to write and submit their reports, thus allowing them to remain in the downtown area when performing many of their administrative tasks. The Patrol Division would still maintain police coverage that includes downtown. They would patrol in marked police cars.

Moblan Licenses (13)   $6,500

Moblan is the Open Software Solutions Inc. records management software that is on desktop machines, but functions like the software on the mobile computers in the vehicles. Supervisors in the building use it to read and approve reports submitted on the mobile computers.  Records personnel use it to edit and retrieve reports submitted on the mobiles. 

Presently the five school resource officers do not have access to the police department database.  They can neither file reports nor retrieve information from our records.  Using Moblan on their computers at their schools will be the most efficient and cost effective way for them to access police department information.

Arrest Module for 34 Mobile Communication Terminals   $10,200

Open Software Solutions Inc. has recently released a version of the arrest module for mobile communication terminals.  Presently officers can enter arrest data only on desktop computers in the headquarters building.  The mobile arrest module would allow officers to enter arrest data in the field (if no mug shot is needed).  Also some data entry can be done in the field before or after the mug shot is captured in the building.  This would enable officers to stay in their patrol areas while entering arrest data, reducing time and gasoline used.

Mobile Data Terminals (four at a total cost of $54,000)

These four mobile computers would be mounted in marked patrol vehicles and be used by officers in the field. The cost includes the computer, accessories, mounting hardware, software and licenses, an air card and service for one year. The computers help enable the officers to remain in their assigned areas during their shift, cutting down on the need to return to Police Headquarters to perform routine administrative tasks.

RECOMMENDATION

We believe that the items described above would enable the department to provide improved services to the community and recommend that the council approve these items as presented.