Sandpoint to add new patrol officer
A mechanical failure caused partially treated water to be distributed by the Sand Creek water treatment plant in mid-July.
SANDPOINT — The city is looking to add a new police officer in the next fiscal year’s budget.
Growth in the area has created a need for a new full-time patrol officer, Jennifer Stapleton, city administrator, told Sandpoint City Council members during the August 4, 2021 meeting.
Each week, the city administrator, mayor, and city council receive a weekly activity summary from city police.
“The number of incidents and impacts show a new officer is needed. [In the] past 12 to 15 months, calls for police service are up substantially for the past year,” said Stapleton.
“In the past we would see ebbs and flows of police calls much like the ebbs and flows of tourism related to our calls for services. We'd hit a peak time in the summer, July to August,” said Stapleton.
“Calls would then drop off a quarter to a third from November to March and even through April or May. Then [calls would] climb again. We have seen our calls for service and police stay pretty consistent with being at summer peak levels now for six-plus months straight,” said Stapleton.
The increase of calls is due to population growth and the rise of tourism, said Sandpoint Police Chief Corey Coon.
“Calls vary from family disputes, intoxication, noise complaints and more. Calls are for assistance or police presence not all calls are crime related. Calls for service have been up the past 10 years,” said Coon.
Stapleton said some of the calls stemmed from the pandemic.
“During COVID, many of the rising calls were people calling to check on family members and when businesses were closed down for a time, police were contacted to check alarms and that doors were locked,” she said.
The city is applying for grants to pay for the new position for the next two to three years before the city takes on the full cost.
If the grant is not received then the public safety funds will be allocated to replacing police vehicles, said Stapleton.
Call reports last year averaged 50 to 60 pages a day, now the daily report averages 70 pages.