Fewer Police Officers On Duty Keeping You Safe
TRI CITIES -- Police departments across the Tri Cities are gearing up for the new year. But each and every one is doing it with fewer officers.
Action News discovered all three cities have seen their officer ratios fall in 2011. The ratios reflect the number of police officers compared to a city's population. The downward trend isn't likely to change anytime soon.
From police shootings to dramatic jumps in theft and burglary, authorities responded to increased crime across the board.
I pulled the numbers to find all three of the Tri Cities are working with less manpower than just a year ago. Kennewick leads the pack with about 1.29 officers per 1000 people living in the city. In 2010, it was 1.30. Richland also fell from 1.22 down to 1.18. But, Pasco saw the biggest downturn, dropping from 1.23 to 1.08.
"While you'd always like to have a better ratio, you'd always like to do a few other things, the reality is," says Pasco Police Chief Robert Metzger. "I think we're doing very well with what we have."
Richland agrees strength isn't always in the numbers.
Richland Captain Mike Cobb says service to citizens hasn't suffered. At least not yet.
"I think the citizens in Richland are really still getting a good value for their dollar," said Captain Cobb.
But, the change does have all of the cities altering the way they operate.
Pasco is using the recently-passed crime tax to form a specialized PAC team to tackle gang crime.
Richland completely changed its patrols to start geobased policing. It means breaking down the city into three main districts. Officers get to know their personal territory every time they're on duty, from every neighborhood to every crime trend.
"It becomes 'no, no, no, not on my watch,'" says Cobb. "And that is a very positive response for a police officer."
All of the departments say they're still responding quickly anytime you call 911. What may suffer is the more time-consuming investigations, and the tips that police may not have time to look into until after a crime has been committed.
That's a reality that may be here to stay.
Action News discovered all three cities have seen their officer ratios fall in 2011. The ratios reflect the number of police officers compared to a city's population. The downward trend isn't likely to change anytime soon.
From police shootings to dramatic jumps in theft and burglary, authorities responded to increased crime across the board.
I pulled the numbers to find all three of the Tri Cities are working with less manpower than just a year ago. Kennewick leads the pack with about 1.29 officers per 1000 people living in the city. In 2010, it was 1.30. Richland also fell from 1.22 down to 1.18. But, Pasco saw the biggest downturn, dropping from 1.23 to 1.08.
"While you'd always like to have a better ratio, you'd always like to do a few other things, the reality is," says Pasco Police Chief Robert Metzger. "I think we're doing very well with what we have."
Richland agrees strength isn't always in the numbers.
Richland Captain Mike Cobb says service to citizens hasn't suffered. At least not yet.
"I think the citizens in Richland are really still getting a good value for their dollar," said Captain Cobb.
But, the change does have all of the cities altering the way they operate.
Pasco is using the recently-passed crime tax to form a specialized PAC team to tackle gang crime.
Richland completely changed its patrols to start geobased policing. It means breaking down the city into three main districts. Officers get to know their personal territory every time they're on duty, from every neighborhood to every crime trend.
"It becomes 'no, no, no, not on my watch,'" says Cobb. "And that is a very positive response for a police officer."
All of the departments say they're still responding quickly anytime you call 911. What may suffer is the more time-consuming investigations, and the tips that police may not have time to look into until after a crime has been committed.
That's a reality that may be here to stay.
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