AGENDA #3b

BUDGET WORKING PAPER

 

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

 

FROM:            W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

 

SUBJECT:       Report on Number of Police in Downtown       

 

DATE:             April 30, 2003

 

 

The purpose of this memorandum is to respond to a request for information from a Council member at the April 2 budget work session regarding the number of police officers assigned to the downtown area. 

 

In FY 1986-87 the Town Council added eight new public safety officer positions to the Police Department for the purposes of establishing a full-time downtown patrol squad.  Prior to that time officers had been assigned to provide foot patrols in the Central Business district as staffing levels permitted.  The level of coverage provided prior to 1986 varied depending on the call load and staffing levels throughout the rest of the Town.

 

Despite many organizational and operational changes in the Department since 1986, the Department has always attempted to assign eight officers to patrol downtown.  In periods of staff shortages, other assignments have been altered to ensure that the downtown coverage was maintained. 

 

Currently six officers are assigned full-time to downtown foot and bicycle patrols.  The other two downtown positions patrol the west end of the business district and patrol the adjacent Northside neighborhoods.  Approximately forty percent of these two officers’ time is spent in the business district. 

 

Two of the eight officers patrol downtown on weekdays between the hours of 8:30 AM and 5:00 PM.  The remaining six officers are assigned to a schedule that provides downtown coverage by two officers, seven days a week, from 3:30 PM to 3:30 AM.       

 

The days and hours of work for the downtown officers are flexible and often change to meet changing service demands.  If the assigned officers are off-duty for any reason, other officers are assigned to replace them.  Also, if an on-duty patrol platoon is above the minimum staffing criteria during daytime hours at least one of the additional officers is assigned bicycle patrol duties in the downtown area.