Speaking at an Oct. 23 press conference announcing the rollout of a "neigh-borhood-based policing initiative," Nickels said precinct captains will become police chiefs in their own areas.
He also announced the formation early next year of a Southwest Precinct, which will be carved out of the South Precinct. The West, East and North precincts will cover the same territories they have in the past. Queen Anne and Magnolia are in the West Precinct.
"They know what the most critical areas are in their neighborhoods," the mayor said of precinct commanders. "We're going to place our [limited] resources where they're most needed."
Joining Nickels at the press conference were West Precinct Capt. Mike Sanford, East Precinct Capt. Fred Hill, North Precinct Capt. Dan Oliver, South Precinct Capt. Tom Beyers and Capt. Jim Pryor, who will head up the new Southwest Precinct.
The mayor stressed that the five captains will not be replacing Police Chief and Queen Anne resident Gil Kerlikowske, but Nickels added that the men will be given new responsibilities and a slight increase in their budgets.
Describing it as "a little bit of a transition," Kerlikowske said the change will divide the city into "five smaller bite-sized chunks." He also said there will not be a reduction in the number of officers on patrol in the city's neighborhoods.
The Seattle City Council still has to sign off on the police budget, and the mayor's proposed change is not without controversial elements.
The press conference last week was a follow-up to Nickels' announcement in September that the police department would be reorganized to more accurately reflect the budget shortfall.
At that time, the mayor proposed restoring Community Police Team sergeants at each precinct as well as Crime Prevention and Preparedness Coordinators.
But Nickels also proposed eliminating the vice, narcotics and gang units and reassigning the police officers involved in them to the different precincts.
Seattle Police Officers Guild President Ken Saucier is especially troubled by the elimination of the gang unit. By breaking up the unit, the police force loses institutional memory, he said.
"Every other city that's gotten rid of the gang unit has started it up again," Saucier said, adding it then takes 10 to 15 years for the unit to regain its effectiveness.
Captain Byers, from the South Precinct, said that not everyone in the police department is pleased with the proposed change.
"The rank and file is very apprehen-sive about it," he said of his officers.
That's not the case with police in the West Precinct, according to precinct Commander Mike Sanford.
"I think the police officers here are looking for opportunities to do a good job," he said. "They want to hear how they're doing from Queen Anne and Magnolia."
Sanford also said operations at the West Precinct won't change very much under the mayor's proposal.
"It's not going to represent a huge shift in this precinct," he said. "I think we've tried over the last year to very much shift our focus to neighborhood policing."
The precinct picks one neigh-borhood each month to concentrate on and to see if any innovative approaches used in that commu-
nity can be used elsewhere, Sanford said.
The Queen Anne and Magnolia neighborhoods will be the focus of West Precinct efforts in December. Queen Anne in particular has seen a surge in the number of car prowls and car thefts this year, so police efforts will include distribution of crime-prevention information, he said.
The mayor has proposed strengthening the police connection with neighborhoods citywide by holding quarterly public meetings. The meetings are also meant to promote police accountability and improve race relations in the city, Nickels said.
"I think they're a great opportunity for neighborhoods," Sanford said of the meetings. "I don't see [racial] profiling as a huge issue in the West Precinct," he added.
But Sanford does see the meetings for the Queen Anne and Magnolia neighborhoods serving another purpose. "Sometimes, everyday people get left off committees," he said of neighborhood groups who have met with police in the past.
The community meetings will give new people a chance to voice their concerns, Sanford said. "The more people we hear from, the better job we can do."
The first community meeting for the West Precinct is scheduled for Nov. 2, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., at the South Lake Union Community Center, which was formerly a United States Naval Station, next to the Center for Wooden Boats off Valley Street.[[In-content Ad]]
