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Session 1306, Minutes Page 3 May 17, 1982 In response to Mr. Adams, Mr. Ollendorff said the budget provided for four cadets for nine months; following that, there will be only two cadets. Mrs. Metcalfe asked if the police force was adequate in terms of numbers. She also noted the reported increase in crimes, and inquired if the City's statistics were being kept in the same manner as those in other areas. She said she knew response time was adequate, but asked how the closeout rate compared to other cities and whether the ICAP pro- gram was sufficient to meet the problems of increased crime. Mr. Ollendorff said he felt University City compared favorably with other nearby communities. He said the rate of closeouts had not decreased, and he did not feel there would be an in- crease in the number of arrests if there were more police officers. Mr. Lieberman said he felt the Police Department was doing an excellent job; howev- er, he was concerned about the perception of University City as being a safe place to live and raise a family. He noted that installing foot patrols often served as a deterrent to petty crime simply by the presence of a police officer. This encour- aged more people to be on the street which then adds to a feeling of being safe. He suggested that foot patrols be reinstituted in several areas of the City, and that the police force should be expanded in order to do this. Mr. Adams disagreed, noting that people may think there is a crime problem if they see a number of policemen in an area patrolling. He said reporting of crimes is a perceptual thing, and that the same crime can be reported in several different ways. He suggested that University City begin reporting its crimes the way everyone else does, and said if it is perceived that the crime rate is low, people will then be- lieve it is low. Mr. Schoomer said he thought the solution was not in putting more officers on patrol or necessarily making them more visible, but in making people aware of what is being done for them, and knowing where the police officers are. Mr. Levy said the reporting system should be used as a selective guideline in how best to cope with crime in University City. In terms of public relations, he felt the key was in finding the formula to put University City's best foot forward. He said he would not fault the Police Department, but he also did not have any scien- tific criteria or way to evaluate it. His impression was that the Department's rep- utation was excellent, and he didn't think the reporting system should be changed to something more artificial. Mayor Mooney noted that the next step was the recognition by citizens that in order to help the police do an effective job, they must be more willing to report suspi- cious activities and to cooperate with the police as much as possible. He asked Mr. Ollendorff to put together the information which has just been discussed. Mr. Lieberman thought the City Manager should examine the value of using the free services of the Auxiliary Police Department more frequently, as is done in a number of other cities. He also asked the City Manager to prepare a statement on the bud- getary impact of hiring three additional policemen. Mr. Schoomer asked if the police force was always at full strength. Mr. Ollendorff said in the past, it had not been; however, a decision just made provided that a police officer, if available, will be hired when a vacancy is about to occur. The person hired will do peripheral police work until the vacancy actually occurs. Fire Department (2020). Mr. Ollendorff said there were few changes in this depart- ment. He reminded the Council that three years ago a decision was made to put a