Police respond to local merchants, add officers to downtown-area beat

Lt. James Gerrettie, who is in charge of the program, said officers have been asked to deal with aggressive panhandlers, open drug transactions, trespassing, criminal damage to property, city parks violations and traffic enforcement issues.

Gerrettie said 16 to 20 officers will patrol the area at any given time in addition to regular patrols. He said the majority of those officers will patrol on bicycle and some will patrol on foot.

TPD has kept in close contact with business and neighborhood associations through letters and surveys. Officers have also attended meetings to gain the associations' input into the problems of the area, Gerrettie said.

Peter Lindguist, owner of L.A. Music, 258 E. Congress St., said downtown area merchants started writing letters to the mayor and City Council in December requesting higher police visibility in the area.

Gerrettie said one of the goals of the operation is to maintain the integrity of the area. He said the downtown and Fourth Avenue area is a melting pot of people and small businesses, which is why people are attracted to the area.

"We want to maintain these areas as places people want to go," Gerrettie said.

Lindguist said the new program is a small part of a concerted effort by downtown merchants and TPD to regain control of Tucson's streets. He said the police department, mayor and City Council were extremely responsive to the merchants' needs.

The operation will continue through March. TPD plans to phase in other adjacent neighborhoods with similar problems.

At the end of the month, Gerrettie said the operation will be re-evaluated and at that point TPD will decide if it is still needed.

The University of Arizona Police Department is not participating in the program, said UAPD spokesman Lt. Brian Seastone. The program is an effort by TPD to have more community-oriented policing, something UAPD has been doing for many years, he said.