Stimulus: More people, more crime, right? Officials say that's not the case

By Paula Horton, Herald staff writer

Tri-City law enforcement leaders are taking a wait-and-see approach about whether they'll see any ripple effect from the nearly $2 billion in federal dollars earmarked for Hanford cleanup.

The stimulus money is expected to be used to create or retain about 4,000 jobs over three years, but it's unclear how many new residents those jobs will bring to the area.

More people will result in increased calls for service, more traffic on the roads and potentially more people who could become victims of crimes, authorities said.

Top cops, however, aren't predicting big spikes in crime. And they see any development at Hanford as a boon for the community.

"People who work out there are very well-educated, law-abiding citizens," said Benton County Sheriff Larry Taylor. "We do not anticipate any problems with the increase in people.

"The only problem we might have is during rush hour with so many vehicles on the road."

The sheriff's office has a contract with the Department of Energy to provide law enforcement services to Hanford. The sheriff's office provides one deputy on site 24 hours a day, seven days a week, along with a second deputy on patrol for two hours during the morning and evening commutes.

Taylor said his office will monitor the changes and work with the Department of Energy if it turns out staffing levels need to be adjusted.

Pasco Police Chief Denis Austin said he'll be watching the Hanford project to see what it does to the city's population.

"We continue to see a pretty substantial population growth and that will probably just exacerbate it," Austin said. "We still have a lot of affordable housing in Pasco."

Increased calls for service aren't new to police agencies in the area. But each will track the numbers to see if it notices any drastic changes that can be linked to stimulus projects.

"It is something that we, as a city, are aware of," said Richland police Capt. Mike Cobb. "There are forecasts, and we do plan to track and address it to the best of our ability."

But Cobb said a larger population doesn't equal increased revenue. If there isn't additional money to cover hiring more officers, the department will have to work within current staffing, he said.

If the stimulus projects do bring more people, Kennewick Police Chief Ken Hohenberg said law enforcement officers have better tools and resources to respond to crime. Officials don't expect any of the same problems caused by the influx of construction workers for the nuclear power plant projects of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Many construction workers then lived in travel trailers, pickups and campers, and they didn't bring their families. After work, some had nothing better to do than hang out at the bars, where they drank, got rowdy and caused bar fights.

"It was a free-for-all at the (Kennewick) Parkade. It was crazy," Sgt. Ken Lattin said. "Kennewick police didn't have the resources it has now. That just will not occur ever again in our history."

Hohenberg, who started in 1978, said he remembers having maybe six officers on duty at night patrolling Kennewick streets, and at times they didn't even have a supervisor working, just a veteran assigned as the officer in charge.

Now, the patrol shifts are supported by Criminal Apprehension Team detectives at night, and officers are supervised by sergeants or corporals on each shift. New tools like Tasers also help.

"Tasers reduce officer injuries, reduce suspect injuries and are a really good, effective tool," the chief said. "When I hired on, I just had a night stick to use as a tool. ... We've made some great strides.

"We were a good police department then," Hohenberg said. "We're a great police department now."

Hohenberg also hopes the jobs being created pay enough to support a family, and that workers will bring their families, making the Tri-Cities their home.

Officials also are planning to use stimulus money earmarked for law enforcement agencies to hire new officers through the COPS hiring program, which covers their salaries and benefits for three years.

Taylor said he's been authorized to seek grants to cover five new deputies, but he's not sure how many -- if any -- will be approved. Hohenberg said he's been given the green light to apply for two positions for Kennewick.

Because of rapid growth in Pasco, Austin said he submitted a budget for 2009 that included hiring six new officers, but there was only enough money to add two. He's been authorized to apply for the COPS grant and is hoping the federal government will fund four more.

Richland officials said they also would like to add officers with the grant funds, but need to discuss it with the city council first.

Agencies have to review their budgets to ensure they can afford to cover any costs beyond the salary and benefits -- training and equipment, for example -- of the new hires and can continue to pay the officers after the three years covered by the grant.

tool name

Monday, Apr. 13, 2009

Stimulus: More people, more crime, right? Officials say that's not the case

By Paula Horton, Herald staff writer