Understaffing discussed at cop/community dialogue event

With officer numbers down at the Athens Police Department and spring quarter street fests fast approaching, community members and police officers had much to discuss Monday night at the latest Police-Community Dialogue held at Christ the King University Parish in Athens.

The event, hosted by Athens Area Mediation Services, brought officers from the Athens and Ohio University police departments together with community members to discuss concerns regarding community-police relations.

APD officers reported that while their department is understaffed, arrest rates for crimes like assaults are up and crime rates are down across the city in every area except robberies.

"The biggest thing has been our budgetary constraints," APD Commander David Malawista said. "It has left us a real shortage that is not about to change without some major economic improvements in the city."

The APD should have 29 officers but only has 24 positions filled, Malawista said, which effectively cuts out one-sixth of the department. The vacancies are mainly due to officers retiring or leaving for military duty, he added.

A neighborhood group representative suggested raising taxes to hire more police officers. "If we want good service, we have to pay for it," said Beverly Flanigan, president of the West Side Neighborhood Association.

The APD faces more retirements in the next four or five years, which amount to one-third of the department, Malawista said, suggesting the city must plan ahead to fill these openings.

The city is interviewing candidates for the police force Thursday, said APD Capt. Tom Pyle, and those candidates must express a strong desire to be involved with the community they are serving.

"The last thing the Athens Police Department wants to do is to go out and hire a candidate on the fly," Pyle said. "We only want people interested in community involvement...We're looking for those people to the exclusion of all others."

Community members discussed whether neighborhood organizations setting up neighborhood watches could help police patrol some areas of town better, and the officers seemed to agree that if organized with the help of the police, these watches would be a great idea.

The West Side Neighborhood Association plans to organize a neighborhood watch this spring that would go out in pairs at night with cell phones handy to inform police officers of dangerous or destructive activity, Flanigan said. People knocking mirrors off cars or breaking antennas is a major problem on the West Side, in the area around ARTS/West, Flanigan said, and the patrol could help to prevent that.

"What we don't want is for somebody to get themselves hurt," Pyle cautioned, though he added that neighborhood group's plan seems safe and that he would be happy to help organize the watch. The neighborhood watches could be particularly helpful, he added, in cases of graffiti or vandalism when police officers may not be able to observe the offenses themselves.

For the upcoming fests, officers said that landlords can be some of the most influential parties in keeping their residents' fests under control. After last year's Palmer Place Fest, officers said, landlords from the apartment complex's owner, Cornwell Rentals, immediately worked to rein in their tenants' wilder parties, creating a noticeable difference for the police force.

Some recently proposed City Council ordinances could also have a calming effect on the spring fests, Pyle said, such as provisions that could limit residents' access to rooftops and new noise regulations. Pyle admitted that each ordinance could present challenges and probably will be hotly debated. (City Council members recently suggested they've cooled to some of these ideas.)

Student Jon Nutter asked the officers whether students would be punished for reaching out to officers if they need help controlling their own parties.

"I cannot think of one instance when we were called by students in a house for help, and then they were in trouble," Pyle reassured Nutter. "Houses that do call us obviously have nothing to hide."

Also at the meeting, Athens resident Eliot Kalman raised concerns over the use of religious items in city affairs, such as the placement of a Christmas tree in government buildings like the police station. Kalman, who identified himself as Jewish, said that government should not support any religion in any way.

"What I said also goes for the school system," Kalman said. "It's wrong. I don't like to pay my taxes and have them used against me."

Athens City Service Safety Director Paula Horan-Moseley said she understands where Kalman is coming from but defended elected officials' choice in decorating their offices as they see fit.