CLEVELAND — More help could be on the way for Cleveland law enforcement, but it won't be to the city's division of police.
"We want to increase the patrol area for the University Circle police as well as the Case Western Reserve Police Department," City Council President Blaine A. Griffin, whose ward includes those areas, told 3News. "That area has a larger footprint than most parts of the city as pretty much the business district uptown."
Griffin says an extra 15,000 people come into University Circle and visit Little Italy every day, but it has had it's fair share of crime. In December, January, and February of this year, there were several car jackings, incidents that could deter tourists from visiting the historic districts.
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City Council is looking to expand Case PD's patrol territory to the Little Italy-Ashbury area, including Wade Park. Additionally, UCI police would expand to East 123rd Street and Edgehill Drive.
All this means you can be stopped and ticketed by an officer who isn't from the Cleveland Division of Police, but that department claims it is still roughly 240 cops short of being fully staffed. Det. Jeff Follmer, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association, says they are pulling workers from less crime-ridden areas to higher-crime one to cover the shortfall.
"It's a shame our staff is so short and we have to resort to other help," Follmer added in a statement.
But Griffin says increasing any police presence will help everyone including residents who live in that area, and that none of this is really new to Cleveland.
"We have these agreements already with UCI and Case Western Reserve," he said. "All we're trying to do is expand the footprint."