by SEAN KIMMONS
Crime is on the rise in Kyle and the police department needs more officers to keep up with the trend, Chief Michael Blake told city council in a recent meeting.
Total arrests have increased by 80 percent this year, according to a recent briefing on crime rates to the city council, comparing figures from the first eight months of 2009 to the same period in 2010.
Violent crimes have jumped 50 percent from 14 such reported cases in 2009 to 21 in 2010; property crimes show a 40 percent climb from 211 to 296 reported incidents, records show. These numbers are on track to rise even more once the last four months of 2010 are collected. Besides a hike in crime, the department has been forced to hold at least 223 emergency calls this year, up from 205 calls last year.
The increase in workload coupled with what the chief says is an undersized force are stretching the department’s resources.
The department is currently sifting through applicants to fill seven and a half vacancies, which include two full-time officers and a part-time sergeant’s slot approved in this year’s city budget.
“These are indicators of a natural trend in the growth of the community,” Kyle Police Chief Michael Blake said Monday of the crime wave. “To just maintain essential services, we need an increase in staffing.”
Even with all of the authorized 34.5 sworn-officer positions filled, Blake says his police force would still be eight to 10 officers below other comparable cities. His force now stands at 27 officers.
Each shift is required to have three patrol officers and a supervisor, he said, but a third of the time only three officers can be on duty. A slim police force has also slowed the department’s response time to an average of 6.75 minutes. The goal is five minutes or less, he said.
It takes 18 weeks of training for a green recruit to be capable of patrolling by himself, Blake says. In the meantime, the department will have to rely on overtime pay to keep its police force running.
The department requested $135,000 for overtime pay in this year’s city budget, but councilmembers cut that down to $35,000.
“It’s just the reality of where this city is at,” Blake said, pointing to the effects of the national economy’s tailspin.
Blake foresees a future budget amendment to capture some of the much-needed funds.
“It’s going to be very difficult to maintain services without an additional source of funds,” Blake said.
The council did, however, put emphasis on building up its police force, allotting two lead dispatcher positions as well as the aforementioned officer jobs.
Although the crime rate has seen an upsurge, serious crimes still remain lower than in comparable cities, Blake says.
In addition, a 2009 Texas Department of Public Safety report showed that Kyle (359 reported offenses) is 81 percent below the crime total of San Marcos (1884 offenses) and 75 percent under the rest of Hays County (1452 offenses).
The report notes, however, that Kyle only cleared seven percent of its reported offenses, while San Marcos cleared 25 percent and Hays County cleared 13 percent.
Kyle grew from an estimated 27,176 residents in June 2009 to 28,576 in January this year, according to figures from the state demographer.
