DATE: Wednesday, October 15, 1997           TAG: 9710150468

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B7   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   46 lines

FEDERAL, STATE FUNDS MAY HELP SUFFOLK EXPAND ITS POLICE STAFF THE COUNCIL WILL HOLD A FIRST READING TONIGHT ON ACCEPTING A $1.1 MILLION GRANT.

Police officers - sometimes as few as four at a time covering 430 square miles throughout the night - soon may not feel so lonely, if city officials approve a grant that would add 15 more slots to the department.

The $1.1 million grant from the Department of Justice would be supplemented by state funds to pay the city's share during the three-year grant program.

The officers' salaries, fringe benefits, uniforms and equipment would be paid entirely by the federal and state grants for three years. The city would pick up the recurring costs after that.

The city has 121 officers, including 10 rookies sworn in on Oct. 1 to fill vacancies. Those new officers will not be on the streets, however, until they complete their six-month training in March.

The three patrol shifts ideally would have 18 officers each. But recent shift realignments and promotions, days off, sickness, and vacation and compensatory time have at times stretched resources, police officials said.

Other sections have also been short-handed recently. Three detectives recently were promoted and assigned to other duties, leaving the bureau with only nine - one less than the department had when the old city of Suffolk and the former Nansemond County merged 23 years ago.

City Manager Myles E. Standish said the grant, which has been approved by federal and state officials, is the largest ever awarded to the local police.

``It says a great deal about the current approach to community policing and how well-received it is by the community,'' he said.

The City Council will hold a first reading tonight on the proposal to accept the $1.1 million grant from the Department of Justice's office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) for salaries and fringe benefits for the new officers.

The council also will consider accepting $592,891 from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justices COPS to fund the local share of the program and two previous grants.

Police Capt. Richard H. Hurd, head of the support services division, said the state allows departments to apply for reimbursement for the locality's 25 percent match for officers hired through the COPS program.

Hurd, who handles the grant applications, said the department would greatly benefit from having 15 additional officers for three years at no local cost.

If approved, the ordinance would be adopted Oct. 29.

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