City council to consider keeping added officers

At the Sept. 19 city council meeting, a resolution to double the number of traffic officers on duty in Saratoga will be up for renewal.

The resolution, approved November 2000, increased the number of traffic officers who patrol during commute hours from two to four. Last year, the public safety commission asked the council to issue the resolution to address residents' complaints about traffic. The council approved spending $332,393 annually on one additional motorcycle officer and one extra patrol car officer. Previously, only one motorcycle officer and one patrol car officer patrolled the city during commute hours.

Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office personnel would like the city to continue funding two additional officers for 2001-2002. They cite a decrease in accidents, increase in warnings and tickets and improved back-up assistance as reasons to keep four traffic officers on duty. In 1999-2000 and 2000-2001, overall citations increased 175 percent, from 1,558 to 4,277. Speeding citations increased 320 percent. Warnings grew even more-- 365 percent--from 68 to 316.

The number of accidents dropped 8.5 percent, from 333 to 305. Injury accidents, as well as accidents in which speeding was the main cause, decreased even more, by 17 and 40 percent, respectively.

Backup assistance to regular patrol units increased 112 percent, from 249 to 529 responses. In 2000-2001, traffic units were also first on the scene to alarm and 911 calls more often. Traffic officers arrived first on the scene 148 times this year, compared to 63 times in 1999-2000.

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