Police Captain Scott Forster updated the City Council on the nuisance and quality of life officer position. Forster said the city has two new hires currently in training and that the police force expects the position to be “up and running” within 12 weeks. P-J photo by Timothy Frudd

The city’s nuisance and quality of life police officer position is expected to be active within the next few months.

During Monday’s City Council work session, members of the council discussed the latest update on the position that was previously approved by the council.

In May, the Jamestown City Council passed resolutions that added three new police officers. The council passed the resolutions in response to the city’s public safety concerns, particularly due to a rise in gun violence. The purpose of additional police officers was to create a gun violence task force and prevent issues that impact an individual’s “quality of life.”

“We had approved a quality of life officer position a while back,” Jeff Russell, At-Large councilman, said during Monday’s work session meeting. “I just want to ask the captain what the status of that is. When do you plan on having that person in place?”

Captain Scott Forster explained the city’s police force is working to quickly implement the quality of life officer position, which will reduce nuisance issues across the city.

“We have two new hires,” he said, “The goal is once they’re done with their field training, then we’re going to implement the nuisance officer.”

Forster gave the City Council an estimated time frame for when the new position would be active.

“I’d say 11 to 12 weeks from now we hope to have that nuisance officer up and running,” he said.

While the position has not been officially implemented, some of the council members pointed out an increase in city patrols and a decrease in nuisance issues.

“You must have put some extra patrols,” Randall Daversa, At-Large councilman, said, “because, I’ve seen the patrols.”

Daversa said this summer has been a notable improvement over previous summers, specifically with motorcycles racing through town and causing neighborhood disturbances.

“Even though the quality of life officers are not in place yet, your regular guys must be around,” he said.

The city has taken previous complaints about nuisance and quality of life issues seriously, viewing them not only as a nuisance issue but a public safety issue.

“We’re taking a focus on a lot of the motorcycle issues that we were having,” Forster said. “Not only the noise and everything, but it’s a safety issue for everybody. We’re really focusing on that this summer and trying to knock that down a little bit.”

Mayor Eddie Sundquist said that despite the quality of life officer position remaining inactive for several more weeks, the city has increased public safety measures and patrols throughout Jamestown.

“There’s been increased beat patrols and walking patrols through this city,” Sundquist said.

The mayor also indicated that along with additional police patrols, economic factors have most likely played a role in decreased issues with motorcycles and cars racing through the city throughout the summer.

“Obviously the increase in gas also makes it a little less tempting to drive those things,” he said.