Agenda - Council - 05/31/1988 - Special

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Consequently, the investigative follow-up in Ramsey does not meet the demands of the growing levels of criminal activity. Police presence is also a factor that suffers due to the increased need for investigative time spent by the day-time Officers. The visibility of police does lead to public satisfaction and a general sense of safety. However, with the Officer in the office making telephcne calls for investigative purpo[es during the daytime hours, police visibility is reduced. The time spent by Officers to cover a shift where the on-duty Officer is either sick or on vacation is most often at a premium rate'of pay since there are not enough Officers to accomplish the same coverage with a shift in schedules. Further, this practice of working double shifts results in fatigued law enforcement Officers dealing with issues that require a person to be alert and competent. This practice can result in added liability on the City and it's policy makers. The areas where this department has met or exceeded the needs of the City arez The department has been able to meet the minimum public safety needs of Ramsey with the least cost of any other police department in the Metro Area. The ratios that we routinely measure law enforcement demands by are Calls For Service and Part I and II crimes. In this case Calls For Service have increased 22.7% during the first quarter of 1988 and the Part I and II crimes have increased 46% over last years first quarter. The measures of performance of this department indicate an average of 36% of all part I and II crimes are cleared matching the area average of 36%. The cost of public safety is often measured by Officers per thousand population. In Ramsey that ratio is .58 whereas in most other communities the ratio is closer to 1 or greater. RECOMMENDATION The position of Investigator should be established and filled from the ranks of current Officers for a two year period. After the two year period the Investigator would return to the ranks of Patrol Officer and be replaced by yet another Officer to serve the next two year term. The Investigator would be assigned cases that are too involved for Patrol Officers to work on due to the time requirements. The Patrol Officers will still be required to do extensive investigation, and cases will be assigned, for the most part, to the Officer taking the original report in order to preserve continuity, develop investigative skills, and for maximum department efficiency. The Investigator will also fill Staffing Report May 1988 Page 14