The Seattle Police Department mapped out new patrol beats for West Seattle and the rest of the city along with plans to beef-up the number of police officers on duty Friday and Saturday nights and during summer, when criminal activity is higher.

The change would mean West Seattle and South Park would be carved into six patrol beats instead of the current seven. Police officials want the flexibility to put more officers on the street where and when needed.

Under the existing system, the city is divided into 64 patrol beats. A group of beats forms a sector, and sectors make a precinct.

Each beat has one police officer on duty at any given time. The officers work in shifts to provide 24-hour coverage in each beat. When serious emergencies occur in one beat, officers from nearby beats leave their areas to assist with more pressing calls.

Of course crime can and does happen 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But its frequency varies according to time, day and season.

Officers who work from about 8 a.m. to midnight generally are busier than officers on duty in the middle of the night. Similarly, Tuesday and Wednesday nights are much quieter than Friday and Saturday nights. There are also more emergency calls during summer than in winter.

"The workload is out of whack," said Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske.

Rather than have the same number of police officers on duty at all times and seasons, the new plan is to beef up the ranks during traditionally busy times and reduce them when it's comparatively quiet.

The new plan is to redraw the boundary lines citywide to form a total of 51 patrol beats. The new beats will be larger than the old beats but more than one officer will be assigned to work areas with comparatively more crime.

The Southwest Precinct is second-biggest of the Seattle Police Department's five precincts. It spreads across 19 square miles and about 104,000 residents and takes in all of West Seattle and South Park. (White Center is protected by King County Sheriff's deputies.)

The North Precinct is the largest, covering 32 square miles and more than 236,000 people.

Since 1997, officers have been working nine-hour shifts four days a week. They take two days off and go back to work for another four days before getting two more days off. That schedule continues on a rotating basis.

The Police Department is considering changing officers' work schedule to four 10-hour days, Kerlikowske said. Most other police departments have already made a similar change, he added.

Redrawing beat maps all over the city also is intended to free officers' time so they can stay in their assigned beats more so they can get to know more people and better understand the neighborhoods they patrol and serve.

The Seattle Police Department used to operate in a top-down management style. Important decisions about what crimes to prioritize and how to combat them were made at department headquarters downtown. That also leads to the development of different specialized units that also were based at headquarters. It was a system dating back to the 1970s.

That philosophy changed. Now far more authority and resources have been given to the captains who command each of Seattle's five precincts. Precinct commanders are closer to the action and have a better understanding of crime in their own assigned areas.

Much of the law-enforcement expertise developed in formerly centralized units can now be found at the precinct level. However some specialized units, homicide for example, continue to be based downtown because they rely on highly technical scientific equipment and uncommon training.

The department also fosters a sense of "ownership of territory," Kerlikowske said.

"We have a saying," the chief said. "If it happens in your precinct, you own it."

Another part of the change is to slightly reduce the coverage area for the Southwest Precinct.

When the old South Precinct was divided into the new Southwest and redrawn South precincts a few years ago, the dividing line between the two was Interstate 5. Police officials have now decided to make the Duwamish River the new boundary line between the precincts. That means Georgetown will be part of the South Precinct.

Putting the new plan into effect will require the city to hire more police. In the past two years, 49 additional officers have been hired. Mayor Nickels and Chief Kerlikowske want to hire 105 more officers between 2008 and 2012 over the next four years.

A neighborhood policing and public safety forum to further explain the changes for the Southwest as well as the South Precincts is scheduled for 6 to 7:30 p.m. April 3 at the Van Asselt Community Center, 2820 S. Myrtle St. Or call 615-0048.

Tim St. Clair can be contacted at timstc@robinsonnews.com or 932-0300.