Merced will look at cost of adding police, crime-fighting tech

Merced city staff will formally study the costs related to crime prevention ideas proposed recently by the mayor, though some members of the City Council said even more research is needed before they can support the funding.

The council voted 6-1 during Monday’s meeting to have staff study what it would cost to hire from one to three officers a year over the next five years. Councilman Noah Lor cast the only “no” vote, but the plan drew other scrutiny.

Councilman Michael Belluomini said he wanted to see more research that showed hiring more officers would make a difference for Merced. “I’m OK with asking staff to provide us information regarding what these things might cost, but I’m concerned about what road we’re heading down,” he said.

Merced had 15 homicides last year, a significant increase from five in 2013 and nine the year before that. Since the beginning of the new year, the city has seen two homicides.

Overall, crime is down in the city, but there have been increases in assaults and car thefts.

Staff need to look for the most efficient way to spend taxpayer money, Belluomini said. To that end, he said, the staff would need to more thoroughly look at the circumstances of the homicides in town, such as where they took place, the time of day they happened and whether they were gang-related.

He said the council needs that kind of information so that it does not jump to a solution. “I don’t know what the solution is, but I think we need to understand the problem more fully before we propose a solution and before we spend the taxpayers’ money,” he said.

After several years of a plummeting local economy spurred by the housing market crash and Great Recession that began last decade, the number of officers employed in Merced has fallen. The number peaked at 111 officers in 2007 and was down to 87 as of November 2014.

William Avery, vice president of the Merced Police Officers Association, said before it adds officers, the council should restore the concessions in pay made by officers to help balance budgets in past years.

Mayor Stan Thurston said adding police is part of the solution. He pointed to past efforts to increase communication with people and ramp up Neighborhood Watch programs as other efforts to reducing crime.

“No one thing is going to do this,” he said. “The police can’t do it on their own ... They’re all like building blocks.”

Along with the study of the price of adding officers, city staff will look at the cost of buying a device that detects gunfire and security measures for the city’s alleys. The second study was approved with a 5-2 vote, with Belluomini and Lor casting the dissenting votes.

The high-tech device being considered, called a ShotSpotter, is meant to help officers respond faster by detecting shots fired and alerting police. Staff will also look at the cost of solar-powered lighting and security cameras for alleys.

The staff was asked by council to present its reports at upcoming budget workshops. At Monday’s meeting, the council also set dates for the budget study sessions, when crime prevention topics are likely to come up.

The sessions are 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 9 and 23 at City Hall, 678 W. 18th St.

This story was originally published January 6, 2015 at 7:19 PM with the headline "Merced will look at cost of adding police, crime-fighting tech."