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l�'�, <br />Jy <br />REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION <br />Date: March 23, 2009 <br />Item No.: 7 j <br />Department Approval Acting City Manager Approval <br />� ..�,� �. .�: �� <br />Item Description: APPROVAL TO APPLY FOR 2009 COPS UHP GRANT <br />BACKGROUND <br />Since 2002, the Roseville Police Department has requested funding to add a full-time <br />commercial patrol officer and a second full-time traffic officer to its roster; however, due to <br />budget and staffing constraints, the department has not been able to obtain the resources to fill <br />the positions. Through available grant funding, the department now has the opportunity to fill the <br />open unfilled sworn position and add two new positions of full-time commercial patrol officer <br />and a second traffic officer at no cost to the City for the first three years of the officers' <br />employment. (Please refer to Attachment A.) <br />The City of Roseville is home to a large number of shopping areas--the largest center being <br />Rosedale (the second largest mall in Minnesota with over 12,000,000 visitors annually). <br />Even though the City is dominated by the retail industry, the police department does not have a <br />dedicated officer to work retail. Officers respond to calls for service and deal with retail crimes <br />after they have been committed. <br />There are not enough officers to be dedicated to the City's mall areas for proactive commercial <br />patrol activities due to the current number of calls for services in relationship to the current <br />number of patrol officers-37 patrol officers, 38,000 plus calls for service annually. <br />The economic vitality of Rosedale, other mall areas, and the City of Roseville are directly <br />related. Although there are many factors that contribute to the vitality of mall areas and the City, <br />the level of crime in mall areas and citizens feeling of safety are very important. If the mall areas <br />become places where individuals do not feel safe or comfortable and people choose not to <br />patronize them, retailers will suffer. <br />The Department has one full-time traffic officer who patrols the City four days a week, ten <br />hours/day. The Department is requesting the addition of a second traffic patrol officer to provide <br />increased focus on public safety seven days/week. <br />POLICY OBJECTIVE <br />The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) is announcing the <br />availability of funding under the COPS Hiring Recovery Program (CHRP). Funding will be <br />Page 1 of 4 <br />