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Numbers show more police needed

In their June 25 guest column Police staffing levels defended, Mayor Rick Baker and police Chief Chuck Harmon discussed the police staffing levels of the St. Petersburg Police Department and those of the Tampa Police Department, and attempted to show that the two cities were not comparable.

Their main contention was that the staffing disparity was justified based on the fact that the land area of Tampa was considerably larger than St. Petersburg.

Lodge No. 43 of the Fraternal Order of Police represents the mid level managers (lieutenants and sergeants) of the St. Petersburg Police Department.

We believe it is important to our membership that we point out some of the additional differences that we believe were overlooked. We believe that a comparison of certain key statistics will demonstrate a greater similarity between the two jurisdictions than what the June 25 column would lead our citizens to believe.

Unfortunately, an examination of the two cities will reveal that the only evident difference is observed when comparing police staffing. This has become an issue to our membership, especially since it is the lieutenants who are tasked with ensuring that their respective shifts are adequately staffed.

Baker and Harmon's column used the cities' respective land areas to demonstrate their differences. It should be noted that calls for police service are primarily affected by a city's population vs. its land mass.

How does the police departments' staffing compare with their respective populations? In 2004, the Tampa Police Department gave its authorized strength as 1,002 officers, and it has since been increased.

In 2006, the St. Petersburg Police Department has an authorized strength of 540 (this includes nonsworn cadets, who aren't certified police officers).

Tampa has 86 percent more police officers to patrol a population that is only 29 percent larger (326,519 and 253,902, respectively). While this comparison is troubling to our members, it isn't the most bothersome.

We believe another similarity can be seen when examining actual calls for service. In 2005, the St. Petersburg Police Department received a total of 379,655 calls for police service (92,220 "911/alarm emergency" calls and an additional 287,435 "non-emergency calls for service"). According to the 2005 Tampa Police Crime Report, it states that their officers responded to 229,211 calls, a difference of 150,444 more calls for St. Petersburg's officers.

The two cities are also comparable as it relates to their respective crime rates. In 2005, the city of St. Petersburg had 50 percent more murders than a larger Tampa (30 in St. Petersburg and 20 in Tampa), as well as more rapes (370 in St. Petersburg vs. 275 in Tampa). Even in auto thefts, a category in which Tampa was once second in the nation, there was only a 17 percent difference (2,793 auto thefts in Tampa vs. 2,394 in St. Petersburg).

We would encourage the mayor and staff to please reconsider their stance as it relates to the authorized strength of the Police Department. The Fraternal Order of Police stands by its contention that the St. Petersburg Police Department is severely understaffed to the detriment of both its members and the citizens they serve. Unfortunately, the staffing shortfall is further compounded by the fact that the Police Department continues to lead the state (for the previous four years) in officer attrition. We would request that the City Council move forward with an outside management review of the agency so that recommendations could be examined and implemented to assist the agency in setting realistic staffing levels to ensure a safer community. We continue to look forward to working closely with the department and the city in order to provide the best possible level of police service.

Phillip D. Quandt Jr. and Karl Lounge, Fraternal Order of Police representatives, Pinellas Lodge No. 43, St. Petersburg

Does color matter in murder statistics?

Re: Stand up to crime, editorial, Aug. 9.

The Times editorial included the subheadline: "St. Petersburg officials and police should redouble their efforts to give residents trying to stop black-on-black crime all the help they can."

Is it only important for officials to be concerned with black-on-black crimes?

I am in total agreement that the murder rate in the Tampa Bay area is much too high. However, it doesn't make me feel any better if murderers and victims are black, white or even green for that matter.

Shawn Taylor, St. Petersburg

Beach renourishment is never done

Re: Renourishment project finished, Aug. 2.

The beach renourishment project is never finished. It's a money pit. The ceremony to mark the completion of this project is just a ceremony to mark the ongoing, perpetual battle with Mother Nature. With this project finished in time for hurricane season, it is Mother Nature's turn to undo all that has been done.

If people understood the natural function and processes of barrier islands, they would understand that the beaches would probably be fine without a regular renourishment of sand.

Sure they would move, fluctuate and change with storms. Eventually they may become part of the mainland only to have another barrier island form off the coast to replace it. Barrier islands are sacrificial structures that protect the mainland.

Developers or those who approve development can't deny that they knew this, but we've built on them anyway and now we have to stop that natural process.

The sad thing is that the majority of the beaches on this 9-mile stretch are among the most underutilized by the public and tourists due to poor access and so are used mostly by those who live in or visit all those condo buildings. Only those beaches easily accessible to the public are somewhat crowded.

I question the idea that we are spending $40-million in taxpayer money protecting the beaches.

It seems to be more to protect all those privately owned buildings that probably shouldn't have been built on these unstable barrier islands in the first place. Just one good storm is going to remove 10 months of effort, and, you guessed it, we'll fix it again.

Shouldn't we be promoting smart and responsible development rather than constantly battling with Mother Nature at $40-million a pop?

T.W. Funari, St. Petersburg

Fewer condos, more affordable housing

Re: $80-million pledged for Ovation condos, Aug. 2.

Oh, brother! Just what the St. Petersburg area needs! A building of estate-sized condos priced from $2-million to $4.5-million. And Bank of America is funding $80-million for it.

Thanks, Bank of America, for throwing the many drowning residents of closing mobile home parks in the area an anchor.

More high-priced condos when what the area needs is affordable housing. Where has common sense gone?

Karen Gordon, St. Petersburg

Rocks in park are pure boulderdash

Re: Rocks anchor fun at park, Aug. 9.

As a downtown St. Petersburg condo owner, I was appalled to see the "rocks" placed in our lovely park.

I am not opposed to a place where children can play, but the looks of this apparatus are disgusting. What's more, the cost - $22,000!

I thought St. Petersburg had a "pick-up-after-your-dog" policy.

Dan Charette, St. Petersburg

[Last modified August 15, 2006, 21:38:41]