PORT ANGELES — Downtown merchants want a police officer dedicated to their business district in a funding partnership similar to the resource officer on the high school campus.
The city also is developing an “aggressive panhandling” ordinance modeled on the one introduced in Seattle in 1993 that has cut down on begging on sidewalks.
The issues of safety and security in the downtown area arose during Wednesday morning’s Port Angeles Downtown Association meeting to discuss the Port Angeles International Gateway Transportation Center.
Merchants said security has been an ongoing problem that became more serious with several recent events.
Those included an unusually sophisticated break-in attempt that involved cutting power to a business’ alarm system, a couple having sexual intercourse in a business alcove at night, and Sunday’s discovery of the body a 15-year-old runaway near the Waterfront Trail just east of the downtown district.
Deputy police chief
“We’re well aware of the problems you’re experiencing,” Deputy Police Chief Terry Gallagher told the group.
The single biggest thing the Police Department could do to clean up the downtown area is have a police officer dedicated to the business district, he said.
Gallagher said a recruit waiting for an opening at the police academy recently walked the area for six weeks and made a noticeable difference.
But the city can’t staff an officer in the proposed Gateway Center for eight hours a day and can’t afford a dedicated police officer for the downtown area, he said.
The Port Angeles School District pays $23,000 for its school resource officer through a funding partnership, Gallagher said.
