We Need More Police Officers

June 1 marked the start of Highland Park's . Except if you're using a hands-free device, you are now prohibited from talking on a cell phone while driving. I am excited as I feel that less cell phone use makes for safer streets.

My excitement falters when I consider the odds of anyone getting a ticket under the new ordinance, which is pretty low. It's low not just because there is going to be . It's low not just because under our previous ordinance, which made ticketing for cell phone use permissible only if there was some other traffic offense, few tickets were issued.

It's low because we don't patrol Highland Park the way we used to.

Two years ago we had a full-time sworn sergeant and two full-time officers detailed to the Traffic Division. Now we have a full-time sergeant who has to single-handedly deal with tickets from, something that didn't even exist two years ago.

In the last budget cycle, and , the City Council . This meant that the one officer who remained in Traffic was reassigned to Patrol. Despite the perils of driving in Highland Park, which have been , we have less of an ability to enforce traffic laws than before.

And it's not just Traffic that has felt the pinch. Officers from across the department in recent years have been reassigned to Patrol. This is because our police department simply has fewer officers than it once did. Some positions were eliminated while other positions that had been for sworn officers were converted into civilian positions. This saved money, but meant that when there were injuries or retirements, coupled with a hiring freeze, there simply weren't enough officers to go around.

Don't get me wrong -- having officers in Patrol is important.  If I dial 911 with an emergency I want there to be officers available to respond. Chief Paul Shafer's decision to make staffing patrol the top priority was the right one, but the needs of a police department go beyond just responding to emergencies. I want there to be detectives to investigate crimes. I want there to be officers who have the time to be in touch with what is going on in our community so that there aren't

I think Shafer is an excellent police chief and I think many of our everyday officers are even better at their jobs. I just wish the City Council would make the resources available so we could have enough of these fine men and women.