A handful of community members got a preview Tuesday night of three possible alternatives for a new Berkeley Police beat map, which ultimately will determine how officers are deployed around the city. Bigger beats and the potential creation of a small “flex unit” to address hot spots or crime trends are among the ideas under consideration, which are still in draft form. Citing tight budgets and limited staffing, police undertook an analysis of several new ways to assign officers around town. The city of Berkeley, working with Mountain View-based Matrix Consulting Group, has been collecting input about police services via an online survey and, starting this week, in open meetings. (Upcoming sessions with the consultant, police staff and council members are planned for Thursday, May 15, and June 4, with several others still to be scheduled.) Matrix president Richard Brady told the West Berkeley residents who attended Tuesday’s overview that more than 1,300 people have already taken the online survey. Brady said that survey will stay open for several more weeks, despite a prior announcement that it would be cut off in April. Take the survey here. Read more about Berkeley’s police beat realignment. Brady said Tuesday night, at Rosa Parks Elementary School to about 20 attendees, that his analysis of 2013 calls for service […]
A handful of community members got a preview Tuesday night of three possible alternatives for a new Berkeley Police beat map, which ultimately will determine how officers are deployed around the city. Bigger beats and the potential creation of a small “flex unit” to address hot spots or crime trends are among the ideas under consideration, which are still in draft form. Citing tight budgets and limited staffing, police undertook an analysis of several new ways to assign officers around town. The city of Berkeley, working with Mountain View-based Matrix Consulting Group, has been collecting input about police services via an online survey and, starting this week, in open meetings. (Upcoming sessions with the consultant, police staff and council members are planned for Thursday, May 15, and June 4, with several others still to be scheduled.) Matrix president Richard Brady told the West Berkeley residents who attended Tuesday’s overview that more than 1,300 people have already taken the online survey. Brady said that survey will stay open for several more weeks, despite a prior announcement that it would be cut off in April. Take the survey here. Read more about Berkeley’s police beat realignment. Brady said Tuesday night, at Rosa Parks Elementary School to about 20 attendees, that his analysis of 2013 calls for service […]