Police budget continues to grow

Keith Paul

Tuesday, March 12, 2002 | 10:54 a.m.

Each year since Sheriff Jerry Keller took over the Metro Police Department in 1995, he has asked for huge increases in its budget, saying he needed more officers to keep pace with the county's growing population. Keller's current budget request for about $322 million is more than double what Metro received when he took office in 1995 and a $27 million increase over last year's budget.

"When I took over this department we were severely understaffed. We were going from call to call and doing no preventive work," Keller said. "When you already have someone physically harmed or emotionally destroyed or financially ruined, you can investigate the crime, but you already have a victim." Keller's current budget request asks for a 9 percent increase. The Las Vegas City Council heard the sheriff's request last week and the county commission has yet to schedule a hearing.

While many older, established East Coast cities have lost population as people flee to the suburbs, Clark County continues to grow, making the doubling of the police budget expected, said Jeffrey Roth, director of research for the Jerry Lee Center of Criminology at the University of Pennsylvania.

"Just based on three factors of inflation, increase in salaries and population, you would expect a doubling," he said. "That doesn't take into account the increase in tourism. Las Vegas is an unusual situation compared to most cities."

Metro has just started its budget journey, as Keller addressed the City Council last week. Both the city and county fund the department based on a formula of calls for service, with the county paying a larger portion of the total.

Keller told the City Council he needed 233 officers to reach a national standard of 2 officers per 1,000 residents. But he said he knows there is no way the city and county can afford to pay for that many additional officers. So he is asking for 75 additional officers to keep the ratio of about 1.77 officers per 1,000 residents. He also asked for 30 additional 911 dispatchers to handle the increased number of calls for service.

In 1995 Metro was authorized to have about 1,280 officers. Currently there are about 2,000 police officers.

Even though crime decreased in the region between 1996 and 2001 -- following a national trend, Keller defended the need for more officers to keep up with growing population.

"We do need resources. We do need officers," he said. "We have the responsibility to police (an) area the size of the state of New Jersey."

Las Vegas City Councilman Gary Reese remembers when much of the land was just desert. Now an area he never envisioned being developed -- land west of Interstate 215 -- already has houses.

"(Keller) has justified why he needs what he's asked for," said Reese, who is also on Metro's fiscal affairs committee, the department's financial oversight board. "He could have asked for more (officers) and justified it. If he would have asked for more and we had it, I would give it to him."

Reese said in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, more protection is need.

"When people come here, I want them to feel safe," he said.

Keller said officers dedicated to homeland defense take away from other types of policing but are needed after the terrorist attacks.

"We are losing some of our visible presence in the community," Keller said. "People don't assault someone when there is a black-and-white (police car) there."

He said additional officers are at McCarran International Airport and other undisclosed locations, and some intelligence detectives are also assigned to homeland security-related activities.

Keller said he has asked to be told how much money Metro is spending on homeland defense, but the figure has not been determined.

Keller said some reduction in services, such as having most stolen car reports done over the phone, has been necessary but also has reduced the amount of interaction between officers and residents.

"I know if I take every dollar, there is nothing left for anything else like parks. We just need enough to not take a step backwards," Keller said, later adding, "It doesn't do any good to have parks if they aren't safe."