By Lynn Hulsey
Dayton Daily News
DAYTON, Ohio — The city police department will likely become increasingly reliant on technology and citizen volunteers to cope with being short-handed, Dayton Chief Richard Biehl said.
Speaking on Wednesday, Dec. 9, during a City Commission budget work session, Biehl said the department will not be able to deliver the same level of service in the same ways with decreased staff.
The department, hit with budget cuts, faces impending mandatory retirement of veteran officers and has been unable to bring on new recruits because of a nowsettled lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Biehl is looking for ways to increase the number of citizen volunteers in the Neighborhood Assistance Officers program. looking to decrease the cost of issuing parking tickets by switching from hand-written tickets to ones entered on a hand-held device that would print out a ticket.
The device would electronically record the ticket so the clerk of courts office workers would not have to manually enter the information.
Biehl also is considering using more cameras to catch speeders, which would require commission action.
He also wants the city to consider a policy that officers would not always respond to the scene of minor property crimes. Crime victims can already file reports by phone and are given the choice of having an officer respond.
But some cities routinely do not send an officer to crimes where there is little or no chance of additional evidence being developed beyond the victim’s report.
He said online filing of crime reports would also cut costs.
Commissioner Nan Whaley said the city would need to clearly communicate to citizens as to why an officer would not be dispatched, because often people expect to see one.
Biehl and Fire Chief Herbert Redden both said they want to cuts costs by reducing the number of false alarms and, in the case of the fire department, the number of calls for emergency medical services from people who are not experiencing an emergency.
City ordinances address both of those issues but could be better enforced or strengthened, the men said.
Airport boarding cost reduced
Also Wednesday, the commission approved new rates for the Dayton International Airport that reduces by $1 the per person boarding cost to airlines.
The new rate will be $3.50, lower than other area airports and should encourage new or expanded air service to the airport, said Iftikhar Ahmad, director of aviation.
It will cost the city $1.5 million in revenue annually, but the city and region would gain if additional airlines locate there or existing ones expand, Ahmad said.
Copyright 2009 Dayton Daily News