Bellevue beefs up downtown police presence

Published 12:44 pm Friday, July 24, 2009

The Bellevue Police Department has created a new squad to patrol the downtown area to maintain safety in Bellevue’s fastest growing neighborhood.

The squad will enhance police presence and cut response time for calls downtown. This area has experienced a significant increase in the number of businesses and residences in recent years and is expected to continue to grow. Officers’ shifts in the Downtown Unit will be staggered over the historically heaviest call load times to assist officers already assigned in downtown districts.

“It just makes sense to put the officers where the people and the businesses are,” said Police Chief Linda Pillo. “We have not seen a rise in crime downtown and we’re taking steps to make sure we don’t.”

The squad consists of a Corporal, four officers and a Lieutenant. Officers were selected in early June and were chosen from current officers assigned in the patrol division. Operating on foot and from a patrol car, the officers will be responding to calls, identifying problems and taking proactive action to resolve them, and interacting with businesses, community groups and residents downtown.