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Chief unveils new crime plan for Charlotte 
07:58 AM EST on Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Full Report:
• CMPD's Strategic Plan for 2008-2012 (PDF)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Take-home cars and high-profile office space could enhance police presence in neighborhoods, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Rodney Monroe told city leaders Monday.
Monroe is also expected to ask for more than 200 additional officers in the next few months.
In a presentation to Charlotte City Council Monday night, Monroe said he was not ready to elaborate on his hiring plans.
“We don’t want to sell ourselves short,” Monroe said in an interview with reporters. “We don’t want to put something out there that’s not realistic. Nor do we want to low ball something it in order to make it acceptable to other people.”
Additional officers would likely mean a budget increase for CMPD, which would require approval from council members early next summer.
“The visibility of our police department will come at a price,” said council member Anthony Foxx.
Reducing crime and the perception of crime is Monroe’s top priority, according to the Chief’s eight-page “strategic plan” released late Monday.
Among the initiatives suggested by Monroe: more electronic monitoring bracelets for suspects in property crimes who are out of jail on bond, an electronic system for officers to submit paperwork to prosecutors, and a new prioritization system at CMPD’s crime lab.
Patrol officers who live in Mecklenburg will be allowed to take marked patrol cars home, under Monroe’s plan.
Several of CMPD’s division offices are in industrial parks or in commercial space removed from major roads.
Monroe told city leaders he would like to examine moving the offices to more visible locations.
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