Pubdate: Thu, 20 Jul 2006 Source: Tribune Review (Pittsburgh, PA) Copyright: 2006 Tribune-Review Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/460 Author: Brian Bowling, Tribune-Review Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.) MAYOR OPPOSES REDUCING SAFETY OFFICERS Monroeville's mayor agrees with the police chief's plan to convert a juvenile officer position to a school resource officer position but still opposes the department's reduction of its community safety program. Mayor James Lomeo said stationing a police officer full time at Gateway High School is good for the school district. "But it doesn't solve the problem from our side. We still only have two police officers in the community safety division when, until April, we had three," he said. Technically, only two of the positions are community safety officers; the third is a related position overseeing juvenile crimes. Community safety officers teach the anti-drug use DARE program in elementary schools, work with neighborhood crime watch groups and provide crime prevention information to businesses and residents. Police Chief George Polnar decided to replace one of the two community safety positions with a patrol position when a community safety officer retired. Assistant Chief Doug Cole said Monroeville has trimmed its specialty programs because it needs more patrol officers to respond to an average 50 calls each day. "One of the things we've been trying to do is put more people on the streets," he said. The department has reduced the traffic division -- which reconstructs accidents -- from four to two positions. The reduction of the community safety program follows a national trend toward increasing the interaction between police and older children. "The trend across the country is to put police officers in high schools," Cole said. The school resource officer can help the remaining community safety officer with DARE training, but the community safety program will do less, he said. The municipality recently hired three new officers, but the 52-person department still has two fewer positions than it did in 1997. Monroeville is the only police department of its size in the state with two full-time community safety officers and a full-time juvenile officer, Cole said. Gateway and Monroeville will share the $75,000 cost of placing an officer in the school. That cost-sharing might free up enough money for council to hire another officer, Cole said. Now is not the time to scale back drug and crime prevention programs, Lomeo said. "We have had three full-time (officers) in community safety for at least nine years. Why cut back now, when we should be proactive with our children and young adults?" The municipality should have five officers handling community safety and juvenile crime, he said. Three would be full time, and two would patrol streets and randomly visit schools. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake