Vancouver Police chief says cuts hurting department

Vancouver Police Chief Cliff Cook presented the city council with a less-than-rosy outlook for the future on Monday — in terms of rising violent crime and dangerous driving — but he also told of several bright spots.

And in view of the recession’s continuing toll on the police department’s staffing levels, Mayor Tim Leavitt ended the meeting by saying, “Our department, in my opinion, is doing a very good job.”

“And that’s because of our officers,” Cook responded.

The chief did not comment on lawsuits filed by officers against the city or a recent vote of no confidence by the majority of rank-and-file officers.

The briefing was held to review whether the department is achieving its goals, and Cook said his analysis indicated several goals were met.

There were fewer calls for service in 2009 from the previous years, likely because folks are learning not to call 911 except in emergencies, according to Cook’s annual report, which is available at www.cityofvancouver.us/performance.

Response times are better than ever, the report says. And nearly half of actions are “officer initiated,” meaning that officers aren’t just responding to 911 calls but are actively monitoring what’s happening in their beats.

The majority of officers are assigned to patrol units, with fewer officers assigned to detective units.

And the department ended 2009 on budget, including overtime, Cook said.

But city surveys concluded that folks who feel safe at night fell by 6 percent from 2008, as did those who said their overall quality of life is good to excellent.

Some residents might feel more threatened by the recession, even though their area isn’t dangerous, Cook said.

Property crime was down, but violent crime was up.

Gangsters and drug dealers are clearly operating in Vancouver, and that could mean crooks see fewer police officers on the streets and gain confidence, Cook said.

There also is a problem with officers who leave the department because they feel their jobs in Vancouver aren’t secure, Cook said.

Specialists in computer crime worked more cases last year, but career criminal arrests fell by 31 percent.

And the department’s goal to increase traffic safety has been severely compromised by cutting motorcycle officers and other factors, Cook said.

Traffic stops fell 8 percent, and impaired driving arrests plummeted by 23 percent.

Injury crashes were up 50 percent.

It’s not just fewer officers visible on the streets these days, Cook said.

“I’ve seen an increase of blatant disregard for traffic laws,” Cook told the council. “There’s more of a willingness toward risk taking.”

One might think the recession would cause drivers to be more careful, but it’s not affecting many drivers that way, he said.

Another trend: The number of domestic violence cases is increasing, as is the number of child abuse cases including child sexual abuse.

Bottom line: “If we continue to see erosion of our current staffing levels, our ability to provide adequate police services to our community is going to deteriorate along with it,” Cook said.