Quincy mayor suggests police improvements

QUINCY - Quincy Mayor Jim Hemberry presented a few ideas to the city council at its last meeting on how to increase police staffing and improve the police department.

The first area of improvement Hemberry wanted to see in was accessibility.

"We need to make sure that if somebody wants to talk to [interim Police Chief Greg Meinzer] he's available for them to talk to," Hemberry said.

Hemberry also stated that the police department will no longer be closed on Fridays.

The officer the city loaned to the Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team completed his three-year commitment and the mayor suggested returning him to the Quincy Police Department.

"There are a few cases our officer is still working that are active cases," Hemberry said. "We obviously don't particularly want to pull him out, but we could."

Hemberry also suggested that instead of hiring a new captain the police department could hire a third sergeant instead. According to Hemberry, two sergeants could patrol while one could handle administrative duties.

This change would allow the police department to hire a new patrol officer.

"It doesn't give you any more bodies, but it should still give you more officer time on the street than what we've had in the past," Hemberry said.

Councilmember Jose Saldana was in favor of not rehiring a captain.

However, creating a new sergeant position would take time because it would have to be discussed with the Quincy Police Guild before any action could be taken.

The city has also applied for a Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant which covers 75 percent pay for a new officer for three years. The city is responsible for the other 25 percent.

The last suggestion Hemberry made to the city council was canceling its ShotSpotter program. ShotSpotter is a technology that gives a notification to officers when gun shots are heard.

The program cost the city $150,000 to install and $100,000 for service yearly. The hope was the ShotSpotter would be able to pinpoint troubled areas in the city, but so far that hasn't been the case.

"I don't think we've gotten a good return from ShotSpotter," Sgt. Paul Snyder said. "It's been in the area and that's been great, but when it's a drive-by vehicles are gone before we even get the notice."

Sgt. Dan Dopps explained ShotSpotter notifications have been so varied that it's difficult to say if one area is worse than others.

"I don't think the return on the investment has paid off," Dopps said.

Quincy would have to purchase two new police cars if officers are hired through the COPS grant and from canceling ShotSpotter.

Hemberry only led a discussion on how to improve Quincy's police force and formal motions won't be made until the next council meeting.