MORE BEAT COPS MAY BE ANSWER

The city police department is getting a new look under its new chief, John
Middleton-Hope. Only a few weeks on the job, Middleton-Hope aims to
increase police visibility and effectiveness.

Along with talks of a possible amalgamation with the Coaldale town police,
Middleton-Hope is in the midst of a restructuring plan he hopes to complete
before the end of the month.

A key component of his plan is to add six more police officers in 2003,
destined for vastly expanded foot patrols in the downtown area. He also
wants to add four more civilian employees to spread the load in the central
dispatch centre which will handle an estimated 30,000 calls this year.

With the additional staff, the chief will rework the city's patrol teams to
ensure adequate staffing, increase manpower for drug enforcement and try to
ensure the traffic enforcement detail is dedicated to those duties alone.

Certainly, Middleton-Hope's plans for the downtown area will be welcome.
Eight officers instead of the current two will be on foot in the core,
allowing greatly expanded coverage which should benefit those who live and
work in the downtown.

Police car patrols in the downtown don't decrease crime, the chief says.
Foot patrols with officers interacting daily and nightly with downtown
residents should be much more effective. The plan should give police enough
presence to reduce public drunkenness and the violence associated with it.

Of course, all of this will cost money . . . several hundred thousand
dollars at least.

Middleton-Hope will present his requests to council next month as part of a
three-year budget proposal for the department.

Certainly additional officers for downtown duties would give impetus to
council's solidarity with the downtown business community and its
commitment to work with the Downtown Lethbridge Business Revitalization
Zone to restore vitality to the core area.

With hard drug use on the rise, increased enforcement is a must to bring
those who traffic in narcotics and other dangerous drugs to justice. And
traffic law enforcement is a must to ensure public safety on our roads.

While the costs may be high, council must weigh the police budget request
to be sure it is an efficient use of taxpayer dollars.

The question aldermen should be asking themselves, though, is not if
taxpayers can afford it but can they really afford not to have improved
policing.