POLICE WON'T BE SCARCE AT RIVERFEST

Cape Girardeau police say they have no plans to cut back on the number of officers assigned to Riverfest.

Capt. Steve Strong, who coordinates police coverage of special events like Riverfest, says staffing is determined by need, not by worries about additional overtime costs.

Like last year, 15 to 20 officers will be assigned to cover this year's Riverfest June 12 and 13, Strong said.

That total doesn't include a traffic officer and extra zone cars assigned in areas on the edges of the Riverfest celebration, he said.

Riverfest crowds are usually the biggest on Saturday night, and that is when the most officers will be assigned, Strong said.

"Staffing depends on what's going on and when it's happening," he said, explaining not as many officers will be needed at 8 a.m. as at 8 p.m.

Strong said police work with event organizers to determine what activities will draw the most people, and that's when more officers are assigned.

News that the city has changed the way it figures employee overtime and might have to charge organizations more for those extra hours prompted some concerns that fewer police officers would be assigned.

That will not happen, Strong said. "We have never discussed cutting back manpower needs because of cost."

Strong and Chief Rick Hetzel said the department will use volunteer reserve officers as much as possible to help hold down overtime costs. That is just good management, they said.

"From a management perspective, we always look at trying to reduce overtime," Strong said. "We have forever. That's not any different from any other year. We always try to be as conservative as possible."

In recent years, Riverfest organizers have tried to make the celebration more of a family event. It is no longer allowed, for example, to take alcohol outside the beer garden or the bars and restaurants that will be open during Riverfest.

The number of incidents requiring police intervention is decreasing at Riverfest, Strong said. No arrests were made at the 1997 celebration, and no thefts were reported.

In 1997, the only incident was a sudden storm on the opening night of Riverfest.

"In 1995 or '96, we had one theft. If you pack 40,000 to 50,000 in that size area, and you have one theft, I think you're doing a good job," he said.

Police want to maintain a high visibility during Riverfest and take a proactive approach to prevent problems, Strong said.

Riverfest organizers hire private security guards who man the beer garden, and volunteers keep an eye out to alert police if trouble is brewing, he said.

"There's a lot of eyes and ears during Riverfest. We want very high visibility. We know that we are going to have a large number of people in a very compacted area, and those people are going to be hot," Strong said.

The city routinely bills organizations for overtime costs incurred during Riverfest and other events, Strong said, but not just for the police department. Overtime for all of the other departments who assign additional personnel, including public works and the fire department, is also billed.

Department heads submit manpower costs for covering events to the city manager's office where the decision is made on whether to pass the costs on to organizers.

Keeping people safe is the department's primary concern, Hetzel said.

"The bottom line is we want everybody to have a good, safe, fun time."