CHARLOTTESVILLE (WVIR) -The Charlottesville Police Department has a staffing shortage that's affecting the public's safety on the Downtown Mall. It's a problem Police Chief Tim Longo is addressing head-on.
"Our responsibility is not just to reduce crime but to reduce the fear of crime," he stated.
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The goal is to have each of the city's eight patrol districts staffed with one officer. But that's not happening, especially in one place that sees a lot of foot traffic: the Downtown Mall. Thousands of people are on the mall every day and on a lot of busy Friday and Saturday nights there are no police there at all.
For those who walk the 10-block pedestrian mall each day, it's a mixed bag of feelings depending on the time of day. Stephanie Harlow, who works on the Downtown Mall stated, "At night, as a young female, I wouldn't feel safe to park and walk the mall by myself."
Tony Labua has seen his fair share along the mall. Labua has owned Chaps Ice Cream for 30 years. "There's a need for additional security to keep people safe at night," he stated.
Just down the block, the feeling is similar inside Tuel Jewelers. Owner Mary Loose Deviney feels safe during the store's daytime business hours, but less so at night. "I think the more officers you have out here, the cop on the block, is very helpful not only to feel safe but to know they're safe," she stated.
The store's surveillance video is what helped police figure out that abduction suspect Jesse Matthew was walking with University of Virginia student Hannah Graham the night she vanished from the mall.
"When terrible things happen in an area that's heavily concentrated with pedestrian foot traffic, it gives rise to legitimate concerns that people may raise from time to time," Longo stated.
On paper, crime is actually down in Charlottesville over the past decade.
"If someone doesn't feel safe in an area, giving them statistical information to the contrary is meaningless," Longo said.
CHARLOTTESVILLE POLICE CRIME DATA REPORT
You would think there would be a strong police presence on the mall, since it is next to city police headquarters, but there's not. From October 2013 to October 2014, NBC29 tracked the number of police officers assigned to the Downtown Mall on Fridays and Saturdays. We found eight Friday nights where not a single officer was assigned to the mall, but it's far worse on Saturdays. There were 28 Saturday nights with no officers assigned to the mall, that's more than half a year's worth.
"They could be in the midst of a preliminary investigation of a reported crime incident, they could be at our regional jail processing a prisoner, they could be here in the police station taking a report from someone who came into the lobby," Longo stated.
The department currently has 119 officers. Chief Longo wants to add 22 new police officers to the force over the next three years. The $1.4 million plan includes salary and benefits for 22 officers which will run $59,154 per officer, each year. Equipment cost for the new officers is estimated at around $7,000.
"We need to make sure we have sufficient resources to police, without compromising the policing resources that are staffing other neighborhoods throughout the city," Longo said.
Charlottesville City Council approved the request as part of the city's strategic plan in June 2014, but each fiscal year the money for extra officers needs to be approved. The budget is expected to be presented to City Council in March.
City Councilor Kristin Szakos believes officers need to be on the mall at all hours. "I fully support Chief Longo's request," she said. "You really need to make people aware that if something happens someone will notice."
Chief Longo says they are changing the way officers patrol to be similar to how Albemarle County police patrol by geographical location. The Downtown Mall district will eventually be incorporated into a larger patrol district which will include the West Main Street corridor.