KEN EXUM/The Register-MailAbingdon Police Sgt. Carl Kraemer helps fifth-grader Anthony Malburg pick up his 282 Yugioh cards Tuesday on the 400 block of South Pennsylvania Avenue in Abingdon. Malburg had been carrying the cards home on his bike when the plastic bag they were in tore open, spilling them down the street.
A familiar beat
Small-town policing relies heavily on community relations
Advertisement
Sunday, September 9, 2007
ABINGDON - A brief burst of static from Sgt. Carl Kraemer's Motorola V-Con car radio was followed by the voice of a dispatcher.
It was 8:30 p.m. and Kraemer was in the middle of his fifth hour on the job for the Abingdon Police Department.
While the dispatcher gave the location of a cow hit by a truck over the Illinois State Police frequency, Kraemer pulled his prowler into Abingdon Cemetery and slowed to a crawl.
"Always best to check the cemetery after the holidays," Kraemer said. "We had a lot of problems out here last summer. People were screwing with the flags and the flowers.
"We make sure to do some extra checks after Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day. Plus, people sometimes park out here for the privacy."
The prowler's tires crunched gravel and its headlights threw long shadows behind tombstones. With his left hand, Kraemer hit the switch on the driver's side spotlight and scanned the distant gravestones. The high-beam reflected off marble and illuminated the zig-zag flight pattern of big insects.
 |
|
Abingdon Police Sgt. Carl Kraemer conducts a traffic stop in the 300 block of South Pennsylvania Avenue during his shift Tuesday evening. |
Tighter budget, more calls
Kraemer's quiet night was a bit more unusual than one might think in this town of just over 3,300.
In July, the department handled 210 calls for service. The department handled 190 calls in July 2006 - and those numbers are part of a larger trend. From January to July 2006 the department took 1,116 calls. In the same span this year, that number increased by 188 to 1,294.
"An increase like that is big for a department our size," Abingdon Police Chief Ed Swearingen said. "Compared to three years ago, we are looking at a 15 percent increase in call load, roughly $100,000 less in our budget and one less full-time officer.
 |
|
Abingdon Police Sgt. Carl Kraemer checks the warrants binder during his shift Tuesday evening. |
More with less is in the eye of the beholder.
The police department's 2007-2008 budget is larger than the budget from the previous two years by roughly $24,000. But what has changed dramatically is the department's spending. During the fiscal year of 2003-2004, the department spent $291,333 - $43,333 over budget. In 2004-2005 the police were budgeted $287,600 and spent $311,794.
Abingdon's Police Department is staffed by four full-time officers - Swearingen, Kraemer and patrolmen Barry Daniel and Josh Kramer. The department employs 10 part-time police officers, including Lt. Jared Hawkinson. The part-timers work as needed and cover full-timer vacations or extended sick leave. Swearingen can call on seven auxiliary officers.
 |
|
Abingdon Police Sgt. Carl Kraemer takes a phone call reporting a possible stolen car sighting during his shift Tuesday evening. Although the vehicle matched the physical description of the stolen automobile, after running the license plate on his in-car computer, he determined that it wasn't the stolen vehicle. |
Staffing three shifts and covering events in town is a challenge, but Swearingen isn't a critic of Abingdon's budget process or of how the city spends money.
"Look, we got new computers and a new vehicle this year," Swearingen said. "The council has been very generous with us and I know they are doing the best job they can to balance all of the city's needs. We always wish we had more, but so does every police department in every town our size."
Other towns the size of Abingdon employ small police departments. Hamilton, with a population around 3,000, employees four full-time and two part-time officers. Aledo, population of around 3,600, employs seven full-time and two part-time officers.
Jason Johnson, the alderman from Ward 3 and chairman of the police committee, said Abingdon's police are doing more with less.
"The reality is we can only do as much as we can with what we are given," Johnson said. "The thing is, I think we have fantastic officers who could be making more at other departments.
"Over the last couple of years, we been fortunate to hire highly qualified part-time officers. The bottom line is we have officers who are in our department for more than just money."
Swearingen, Kraemer and Hawkinson said Abingdon's police officers work more than their share of off-the-clock hours.
"Our auxiliary officers are not paid. They buy their own equipment," Hawkinson said. "From May 1 to Aug. 1 of this year, five of those officers logged 450 hours working for this department.
"We have a dedicated staff."
Street-level discretion
After the cemetery beat, Kraemer pointed the prowler toward Abingdon's east side and he entered the neighborhoods.
"We really try to vary where we drive and at what time," he said. "We don't want to fall into any patterns, because then we become predictable.
"It's easy to fall into patterns."
While Kraemer drove he described working in a small town.
"You get to know people pretty well," he said. "As a matter fact, we probably know more about people than they think we do. Why? Because it's our job to observe.
"Obviously, we want to catch criminals. But it's really rare we'll ever drive by a crime in progress and chase down the bad guys. We observe. Today I noticed a house that always has its garage door open actually had it closed tonight. I made a note of that. I notice when there is new rock on the road - because if I have to drive it fast, I don't want to slide."
After stopping for a small dog sitting in the middle of the road, Kraemer rolled a few blocks on South East Street.
"A guy that lives on this street has a warrant," Kraemer said. "Throughout my shift, I drive past and check for his car."
Kraemer's canvass came up empty. He drove on and found a spot on the narrow street between Rotary Park and a row of houses.
"I don't have the radar gun, so I can't do speeding," Kraemer said. "But I have a good view of two intersections with stop signs and I can look for headlights, taillights and registration lamps."
Soon a pickup truck with a dirt bike strapped in the bed rolled past the stop sign on North Jefferson Street.
Within moments, the pickup truck driver saw red-and-blue flashers in his rear-view mirror.
As Kraemer spoke with the driver, Patrolman Josh Kramer pulled up in an unmarked car and walked the passenger side of the truck. Kramer soon left the scene after it became clear his counterpart wouldn't have any trouble with the stop.
After information showed the truck's driver was not wanted on any warrants and had not been cited for a moving violation in the last six months, Kraemer issued a warning.
"In cases like traffic stops, you try to make the first contact about awareness," Kraemer said. "You give the person a chance to correct whatever it is they did wrong. Sometimes that can't be done. But when you have a chance to have contact with people without sending them to court or jail, you try to take advantage of it.
"We have some discretion in our jobs. Sometimes people don't need to get a ticket."
Not perfect
The Abingdon Police Department is not without its critics.
This summer Swearingen's command structure was scrutinized at police committee meetings in July and August.
City Clerk Sheila Day and Treasurer Jim Davis were two of a group of citizens who questioned Swearingen's ranking structure that features both Sgt. Kraemer and Lt. Hawkinson directly under the chief.
Hawkinson, who is a part-time officer, is not permitted by law to supervise full-time officers. Swearingen's chain of command seemed to put Hawkinson and Kraemer on equal footing in the department.
Swearingen explained his command structure.
"Lt. Hawkinson is not in charge of full-time officers," he said. "He handles all the administrative functions. He manages the fleet and is our liaison with the auxiliary officers. He is our firearms and ordnance officer.
"The benefit is simple. I can utilize Lt. Hawkinson's knowledge of computers. When I have an administrative need, he can take the ball and run with it."
Kraemer, according to Swearingen, is the chief's second-in-command and direct supervisor of departmental operations. Essentially, Kraemer is in charge of the officers in the patrol division. He approves all reports and is the evidence custodian.
The department drew more fire recently over Swearingen's personal use of a police squad car.
Abingdon Mayor Stephen Darmer defended the chief, saying Swearingen was told he could have his squad car at home and use it at his discretion.
Swearingen and Kraemer acknowledged response times to calls also have been questioned by citizens.
"We are not above being questioned by people," Swearingen said. "That's life. We serve people and people can always look at the way we do things.
"Our response times are predicated on calls and where we are. We assist other agencies - we can be called to Avon or St. Augustine or rural Knoxville.
"Sometimes our response could be slowed because we are on another call in Abingdon. We do the best we can to respond as quickly as possible."
Building relationships
Policing the small town of Abingdon is mundane and repetitive.
"In the two years I've been here, I've been in two or three car chases," Kraemer said as he headed toward the portion of Illinois 41 that passes through the town.
"Is Abingdon boring? It can be, but a lot of police work everywhere is boring. It's administrative work and paperwork. Police work is 90 percent boredom followed by 10 percent terror."
Kraemer laughed.
"The thing is, 90 percent of the time in Abingdon, we're dealing with the same 10 percent of the population. Physical resistance from people is not uncommon and it is from people we know. The thing is, no call from a dispatcher can tell you what you will find. You can't be lulled into assuming anything - because of the size of the town or the fact you may know a guy's brother.
"Every call is unique and demands attention."
Kraemer issued another warning later Tuesday night to a teenage boy riding low in a powder-blue Oldsmobile. The boy's stereo system thumped and blared as it passed the police prowler.
Kraemer planned to issue a ticket because the boy failed to produce an insurance card. But after the boy's mother came to the scene and verified insurance, Kraemer simply wrote out the warning and had a brief conversation with the boy.
As the sergeant left the scene, he considered crime prevention.
"Police stop maybe 4 percent of crime before or as it happens," he said. "I need the citizens of this town. With community involvement, police are four to five times more effective. So you go to a 20 percent rate of catching people when you have the community involved."
Kraemer turned the prowler around and stopped at a traffic light.
"Take today. Not long after I came on, I was driving and I came across a kid who had been on his bike and dropped something like 300 Yu-Gi-Oh cards all over the road.
"So I stopped and helped him pick them up. I got a chance to talk to him a little bit. Do I think that will make him a big fan of policemen? I doubt it. But somewhere down the line, I might need his help. And, hopefully, he'll remember that I helped him out once."
The traffic light turned green and Kraemer resumed his circuitous drive through Abingdon's streets.
"The goal is to build a rapport with the community you serve. You have to work at that every day."
Police Department Budget
Fiscal Year Budgeted Total Spent
2007-2008 $248,402
2006-2007 $224,637 $236,156
2005-2006 $224,637 $235,000
2004-2005 $287,600 $311,794
2003-2004 $248,000 $291,333
Police Department Payroll
2007-2008 $185,552
2006-2007 $167,537
2005-2006 $167,537
2004-2005 $195,000
Police Calls
2007 Total Calls
Jan.-July 1,294
July 210
June 196
May 218
2006 Total Calls
Jan.-July 1,116
July 190
June 163
May 200
Police Staffing
Below is a comparison of police department staffing in five small towns of similar size.
Abingdon, pop. 3,300
Full-time - 4
Part-time - 10
Knoxville, pop. 3,100
Full-time - 5
Part-time - 4
Carthage, pop. 2,700
Full-time - 3
Part-time - 2
Hamilton, pop. 3,000
Full-time - 4
Part-time - 2
Aledo, pop. 3,600
Full-time - 6
Part-time - 2
