CAPE POLICE DO GOO DJOB WITH GROWING CASELOAD

If you're seeing more police officers responding to calls on the streets, there's a reason. It's not because there are more officers, but the number of calls has grown substantially in the last four years.

Police incident calls have jumped from 19,803 in 1987 to 27,860 last year. That represents about a 40 percent increase.

To the Cape Girardeau Police Department's credit, this increase in service has been absorbed with no appreciable increase in manpower. City budgetary restraints may prevent any staff expansion in the near future. Currently, police department staffing stands at 61 officers.

The jump in incident calls goes beyond Cape Girardeau's own growth. The fact the city has become a regional hub for medical, retail and business has brought an increasing number of people into town. Daytime traffic in Cape Girardeau has increased by 18 percent in just the last four years, according to city officials.

And those added people on the streets also bring more accidents and more crime. It should also be remembered that these visitors spend money at local businesses, generating sales tax dollars for local government.

Cape Girardeau remains fortunate in that most of the crime reports are relatively minor. Murder is still an out-of-the-ordinary crime. The city has its share of burglaries, robberies and rapes, but Cape Girardeau's crime statistics still compare favorably with many other cities of its size.

Much of that is due to the professionalism and response of our city police. Even though the caseload has grown tremendously, emergencies are still answered expeditiously. However, the department has had to prioritize its calls at times. That means someone on a low-priority matter may have to wait while emergencies are handled. Without increased staffing, the department has little choice.

But the system seems to have worked out well. The department has done a yeoman job of living within its means.

Despite the increased workload, the Cape Girardeau Police Department continues to cruise along in high gear.