Crime consistent with population

Crime consistent with population

Written by Mark Collins Friday, 18 July 2008

 Police departments in Leander and Cedar Park are evolving to meet the changing and increasing demands of the communities.

“Our single biggest challenge is to keep up with the population so we don’t get behind the growth curve,” Cedar Park Police Chief Henry Fluck said. “As the population grows, the number of crimes grows with it.”

The Cedar Park Police Department is in the third year of a five-year hiring plan to acquire 18 new officers by 2010, which would help the department reach its goal of 1.63 officers per 1,000 citizens. CPPD currently has 72 sworn officers, or 1.43 officers per 1,000 citizens.

Officers per 1,000 citizens is a statistic used by police departments across the nation to monitor staffing levels. Adequate staffing ensures officers will be available to respond to calls while maintaining enough of a presence in the community to deter crime.

Cedar Park’s goal ratio of 1.63 reflects the average of 11 benchmark cities from around the region that were also used to determine pay scale for public safety salary comparison.

In recent years, that number had dropped as low as 1.3, which Fluck considered a “very serious situation of understaffing,” and inspired him to propose the hiring plan.

“I’m very pleased that council is receptive to the five-year hiring plan,” Fluck said. “I think everyone has the same desire to have a safe community, and they realize this is the only way to do it.”

Crime rate

The crime rate in Cedar Park has gone up an average of 8.6 percent each year for the past six years. However, during that same period, Cedar Park’s population has gone up an average of 9.3 percent each year as well.

“The growth in crime is consistent with the population,” Fluck said. “We have to keep a handle on crime, and we have to do the best we can to prevent it, deter it, and when it does happen, to clear it, solve it and bring people to justice.”

At its current strength, the police department is able to operate at a higher level than ever before. In addition to a patrol division, CPPD now has special operations, detectives, community service and professional standards divisions. With more specialized units, the department is able to provide better service to the community.

“When I came here in 1999, we were strictly a patrol department,” Fluck said. “Since that time, we have grown into what I call a full-service police department.”

Voters were receptive to the department’s needs when they approved phase two of the police station in the November 2007 bond election. The original building, which opened in 2003, will expand to the west, providing additional space for the detective units, service officers and special operations division of the traffic unit. The 12,000 sq. ft. addition will cost $5.16 million to construct. Although design of the expansion has already begun, there is no timeline for construction.

New police station in Leander

The Leander Police Department is getting settled into its new headquarters, which opened in October 2007.

Located on Leander Drive, police headquarters will be next door to the new fire station and have access to US 183 via Sonny Drive when the road is extended this fall.

The building is more than twice the size of the old station and provides much needed elements for effective police work. The station has two holding cells for detainees, as opposed to a bar to handcuff them to in the old station. Two new classrooms provide space for briefings and officer education. The evidence room was expanded and a crime scene lab added as well.

Officers have been pleased with the adequate office space after being forced to share desks in the old building and take advantage of simple luxuries like the locker rooms, workout facility and break room.

“The functions of this facility allow us to better serve the community and give everyone a better experience when they come to the police station,” Officer Luana Wilcox said. “The officers have more room, and we’re getting more done more efficiently.”

The police station is more accommodating to the public with an open and comfortable lobby, informal meeting rooms and a family interview room with toys and a couch for situations that involve families with small children.

Constructed with growth of the department in mind, the entire second floor of the station is empty and ready to house more officers and divisions as the department requires more space.

As Leander grows, so does its need for traffic enforcement. According to Wilcox, the increase in population and expanded coverage area resulted in an increase in the number of calls the department receives, taking officers off their road patrols.

To address traffic enforcement, LPD applied for and received funding from TxDOT’s Comprehensive Selective Transportation Enforcement Program. CSTEP funds overtime pay for officers to work at high accident locations with the goal of reducing the number of fatalities, injury collisions and total collisions.

LPD currently has a ratio of 1 officer per 1,000 residents, with a goal of reaching 1.4 officers per 1,000 residents by the year 2012. Police Chief Don Hatcher has created a five-year staffing plan to help the department reach its goal that will be addressed by city council on a yearly basis.

“The more we take care of crime now, the less we have to worry about it down the road,” Wilcox said. “Growth is certainly a challenge, but we feel that we are prepared to handle it.”

The Leander Police Department opened its new station in October 2007. The new station is nearly double the size of the old one and has provided the department with some much needed features.