A new public safety package adopted by the Seattle City Council could add about seven new sworn police officers in Ballard by mid-2009, but some wonder if that's enough to address major staffing shortages in a police department that hasn't grown in decades.

The council revised the biennial budget proposed by Mayor Greg Nickels' to expand the Seattle Police Department by 37 officers at a cost of about $3 million. Ten officers will be added in 2007 and 20 in 2008, in addition to retaining several temporary positions.

Councilman Peter Steinbrueck, who originally proposed adding 250 new officers in the next six years, said the plan is a good start but still inadequate.

"It's far from my expectations but we didn't come up empty handed either," he said. "We are off to a good start and it bodes well for the future."

Cindy Potter, a member of the Greenwood-Aurora Involved Neighbors block watch, said her group, along with about a dozen others, convinced the city council to put more officers on the streets.

"I think it shows that people took us pretty seriously," said Potter. "The council really extended an effort to get as many new officers as they could with the budget they had and it's really elevated the issue to a No. 1 priority"

But Seattle Police Guild president Rich O'Neill criticized the proposal for not going far enough.

"It's something but not enough," said O'Neill. "It's not rocket science, we need more officers."

Since the 1970s, the department has not grown significantly in numbers but it has sprouted several specialty programs like community police and crime scene investigation teams. Those programs have pulled officers off the street, said O'Neill.

"We have less people patrolling the neighborhoods than in 1971 and that's scary," he said.

The police guild is concerned the city does not understand the state of the department as a result of the staffing shortage.

"We are in a crisis," said O'Neill. "I don't think either side of city government showed much vision here. Communities all want more police officers--they're so frustrated."

But Councilman Steinbrueck said it's not that easy. Adding officers to the budget means cutting funds promised to other constituencies. In this case, money was cut that would have gone towards expanding social services and programs for at-risk youth.

"People want concerns addressed immediately but it doesn't work like that," said Steinbrueck, noting that other changes could occur before the mayor and council approve the budget no later than Dec. 1.

Police are frustrated too. An officer from the North precinct said the additional officers wouldn't be enough to make a real difference in the North sector of the city, which includes Ballard, Greenwood, Crown Hill, Phinney Ridge and Fremont.

With three to six officers on patrol at any given time, the North precinct has turned into a reactionary unit, with barely enough staff to respond to emergency calls let alone patrol the streets, said the officer, who wished to remain anonymous.

Don Meyers, who organizes a block watch in his Ballard neighborhood, is optimistic about the plan but said it boils down to how the officers are deployed.

"I'm just hoping there will be other changes to increase community safety and give us a sense of having a neighborhood cop," said Meyers. "But we'll have to wait and see."

Meyers and other Ballard residents have been concerned about a recent wave of car theft and break-ins in their neighborhood.

The council is asking the mayor to develop a plan to address these issues as well as create performance measures and outcomes, such as tracking emergency response time and providing regular crime reports to the council.

"If we are asked to fund more officers, we need improvements," said Steinbrueck. "In every precinct, in every neighborhood, citizens should expect fast and reliable response time in an emergency. The department has not achieved that and they need to."

Beth Miller, director of the Ballard Chamber of Commerce, said by not fully funding public safety issues, the city is failing to recognize the impact the policing shortage has on the business community. Transients panhandling and inebriated, loiter in front of businesses, she said, often scaring off customers.

"We need to be sensible and take care of basics first - public safety," said Miller. "We need to do whatever we need to do to make sure we have enough police."

But to effect real change, the department needs to add at least 1,500 new officers, said O'Neill.

"And even then, we would just be average compared to other cities our size," he said.

While Seattle is the 23rd largest city in the nation, it has the 38th largest police force, employing about 1200 officers, 686 of which are patrol positions.

There are roughly 100 police officers a day patrolling Seattle's streets, spread out among five precincts and about 600,000 residents. Lower priority crimes like car theft and burglaries are often neglected while officers handle emergency calls, said O'Neill.

"(The police department) is hugely under resourced," said Steinbrueck. "There were 1,500 robberies last year and only five detectives to investigate them. The mayor needs to take that more seriously."

The issue is now alive in public debate and there has been early talk about a citizen's initiative to hire about a thousand more officers in the next five years, said O'Neill.

"The citizens have to be the ones to keep this on the front burner," he said. "They are organized and they won't take this as a solution to the problem."

Community group like Potters' Involved Neighbors have picked up the city slack, organizing weekly safety walks around the community, cleaning up alleyways and holding regular meetings with the police department.

"It's been really successful and it helps keep the community stay connected," said Potter. "It's a great partnership. But we can't do it alone, we need the support of the police as well."

Rebekah Schilperoort may be reached at 783.1244 or rebekahs@ballardnewstribune.com