SPD begins goal-setting

SANDPOINT — City police issued thousands if citations last year, but the incidents were spread throughout the city, not centered in the downtown area as critics allege, according to police.

Police Chief Mark Lockwood said traffic stops, many leading to citations or arrests, were spread uniformly throughout the city despite allegations that officers target the downtown area, making petty stops to mete out drunk drivers.

“We go to where the calls are,” Lockwood said. “Where we’re required to go.”

The response came after a recent meeting by city officials and police that included long-range planning for the department.

Council member Stephen Snedden and the police chief asked for the meeting to start the process of goal-setting for the department.

Snedden said he hoped the meeting would result in the adoption of criteria including performance benchmarks for officers.

He also wants to determine if officer caseload adversely affects community service and a policeman’s interaction with residents.

Studies show that officers who have a rapport with the public are more likely to be proactive rather than reactive — simply responding to calls.

Finally, the meeting put in place a plan to prioritize funding for the department.

A petition circulating at downtown establishments alleging an overly zealous police force concerned some council members.

The petition accuses police of marking cars parked near taverns and later following the vehicles and interrogating the drivers.

It alleges that officers intimidate and harass patrons and calls for the city police department to establish less controversial practices when attempting to catch drunk drivers.

“Based on the current practices, many if the interactions with police officers and common citizenry border on intimidation and harassment in the department’s attempt to determine levels of intoxication,” according to the petition.

Lockwood said he had not seen the petition. Signed copies had not been turned over to council, and no one had approached the city regarding the petition, he said.

“There is a lot of hearsay,” he said. “They have not talked to us.”

A citation and arrest report compiled by the Sandpoint Police Department shows 116 DUI arrests in 2009, or 14 percent of all arrests made.

Most of the DUI arrests (44) occurred on the Highway 2 corridor. Police made 33 DUI arrests downtown, and 28 from Fifth Ave. west to Division Street.

Of 3,600 total violations in the city last year, more than 2,000 occurred between Fifth Ave. west to Division and along Highway 95. The Highway 2 corridor saw 717 incidents and 604 occurred downtown.

Mayor Gretchen Hellar said some downtown business owners several months ago approached her regarding policing. She offered to arrange a meeting between business owners and police, but the meeting did not transpire.

“The next thing I noticed, there is a petition circulating,” she said. “I have never been presented with one. No one has talked to me about it.”

Lockwood said his department has improved over the past decade in its community involvement, and in breaking down barriers between police and the public.

Officers and residents interact through programs such as the citizen academy in which residents get an overview of the department. In addition, Sandpoint PD has a ride along program, a traffic safety education program, it provides workshops on crime prevention, and career-based programs for teens, and the department and its officers volunteer their time in a variety of holiday programs including the Lions Club gift shopping program.

He gives the department a B grade for its efforts to interact with citizens outside of police work.

“There is always room for improvement,” he said.

Some council members, including Snedden, want officers to spend more time on neighborhood foot patrols, and attending community events.

 “We try to focus more on that,” Lockwood said. “I would like to see us expand foot patrols if we could.”

He commended his officers, giving them between an A and B for their professionalism.

“I think my officers are members of the community and they are human like anybody else,” he said. “They live here like anybody else, have families here and contribute to the community. They have a vested interest in making it safe.”

The 8-year plan will place an emphasis on keeping children safe, Snedden said, on the department’s efficiency and on community policing efforts.

“The chief and I are working to develop it,” he said. “It’s going to be a process.”