2012-10-08 Regular session - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Kraft said Council clearly has the authority to approve more money if that was what that they decide. He said Council also has the responsibility to not respond in an overly emotional reflexive occasionally bordering on demagogic manner. Mr. Kraft said the most important responsibility of this Council is to be sure the City’s Police Department has the person power and resources to protect the residents from crime. So the most important responsibility of the Council is to be sure the police department has the person power and resources to protect the residents from crime. As the Council representative, Mr. Kraft asked, does the City have enough police officers; are we spending too little, too much on the police department. After reviewing numerous studies, Mr. Kraft stated the data and reasoning brought him to the conclusion that increasing the number of police did not necessarily make citizens safer. He stated it was more important to have well- trained police working in a well-designed and well-run organization. Mr. Kraft noted that quality was more important than quantity. Secondly Mr. Kraft said in reviewing University City’s crime data, aggravated assaults, burglary, and larceny dropped and homicide was the only notable exception. Mr. Kraft concluded that U City did not have an overall crime problem as property crime and crime against people were dropping. He said the question should be, can U City decrease the murders by adding more police. He found it difficult to believe that increasing the police force would prevent a drug deal in an alley or stop a car of teenagers driving down the street shooting. He gave the example of Sergeant King’s shooting who was in a police car, in uniform and in close proximity to other officers. Mr. Kraft said some crime cannot be prevented and then it was the job of the police to make sure the perpetrators were brought to justice, which the police force has done. Mr. Kraft did not see the rush for more officers for what was claimed to be an escalation of crime. He said U City’s Police Department was run by experienced professionals. Mr. Kraft said if the department felt they were under staffed, they would ask for more personnel and until then he would defer to their expertise as to how the department should be run and staffed. Mr. Sharpe said that Ms. Welsch stated it was not prudent at this time and that Mr. Price was Out of Order but he did not see that. He stated that if the police department had additional police officers, the Chief of Police would be able to allocate officers to do additional work that may not be covered. Mr. Sharpe also agreed with Mr. Kraft that hiring additional police officers may not stop a crime in the alley or on the street, but was possible they could. Mr. Sharpe said he knew the police department was understaffed and was not rushing into something because of incidents. He would like to add additional policemen to increase the Police Department level to what it was at in 1978-79. Mr. Sharpe said it was a concept to make sure the City’s citizens are safe and knowing that funding is available. He was also surprised that Mayor Welsch ruled Mr. Price Out of Order for the reason that if staffing was not at what it should be; it should be taken up to where it should be. Mayor Welsch stated she ruled the motion Out of Order because the vote was not posted on the agenda and members of Council or the public did not have proper notice required by the Sunshine Law. She noted that Council has not talked with the professional staff of the City that has not made a recommendation for the City to hire more officers. Mayor Welsch agreed that the Council has the right to 8