Sunnyside Police reach full staff and crack down
SUNNYSIDE - Sunnyside's Police Department has the most officers on the force in its history. Officers take on the violence that has plagued the community for years.
"The reason that we did this is because we were seeing some major crime trends with violent crime. Last year, it was very much gang related,” said Deputy Police Chief Phil Schenck.
The department added a gang unit in August with a goal of eliminating the problem.
"It's not gang suppression,” said Schenck. “These officers are not working to just push the problem down for a few years. These officers are working to make gangs go away.”
He says having more officers should not only drive down gang violence, but overall crime as well.
We pulled the statistics and discovered disorderly conduct plummeted.
Schenck says this often ties into gang activity.
We learned assaults are also down and so are home burglaries.
Drug arrests are actually higher, which could signal more people are being caught for breaking the law.
Sunnyside Police tells Action News that in addition to fewer reported crimes, the department is also solving more crimes. It's something that wasn’t always possible with fewer officers on duty.
We spoke to a counselor at a local school where its resource officer was lost in budget cuts.
However, she says an increased police presence helps make up for it.
"Having the police officer come in, having the parents come in, it stops it in its tracks before these kids get older. It’s invaluable,” said school counselor Linda Ihler.
The chief also anticipates full staffing will cut expenses.
Despite paying more people, there will be less overtime. Officers no longer work up to 80 hours of overtime in a single pay period to cover shifts.
Deputy City Manager Byron Olson says department funding is expected to be there through 2012.
The city is still working to fill a budget gap created by the jail that's expected to grow to $450,000 by the end of the year.
Schenck says his department uses an anti-terrorist model to combat gangs and has received positive feedback on the larger police force.
"The reason that we did this is because we were seeing some major crime trends with violent crime. Last year, it was very much gang related,” said Deputy Police Chief Phil Schenck.
The department added a gang unit in August with a goal of eliminating the problem.
"It's not gang suppression,” said Schenck. “These officers are not working to just push the problem down for a few years. These officers are working to make gangs go away.”
He says having more officers should not only drive down gang violence, but overall crime as well.
We pulled the statistics and discovered disorderly conduct plummeted.
Schenck says this often ties into gang activity.
We learned assaults are also down and so are home burglaries.
Drug arrests are actually higher, which could signal more people are being caught for breaking the law.
Sunnyside Police tells Action News that in addition to fewer reported crimes, the department is also solving more crimes. It's something that wasn’t always possible with fewer officers on duty.
We spoke to a counselor at a local school where its resource officer was lost in budget cuts.
However, she says an increased police presence helps make up for it.
"Having the police officer come in, having the parents come in, it stops it in its tracks before these kids get older. It’s invaluable,” said school counselor Linda Ihler.
The chief also anticipates full staffing will cut expenses.
Despite paying more people, there will be less overtime. Officers no longer work up to 80 hours of overtime in a single pay period to cover shifts.
Deputy City Manager Byron Olson says department funding is expected to be there through 2012.
The city is still working to fill a budget gap created by the jail that's expected to grow to $450,000 by the end of the year.
Schenck says his department uses an anti-terrorist model to combat gangs and has received positive feedback on the larger police force.
More to Explore
Learn about changes coming to commenting