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<br />percent. There was a marked increase in 2011, which coincided with the increased staffing levels of the <br />downtown bicycle team. <br /> <br />The use of the Downtown Public Safety Zone was one of the steps in the City’s Downtown 12-Point Safety <br />Improvement Plan adopted and funded by the City Council to contribute to the community’s efforts to <br />enhance and improve the livability of downtown. Another tool that has been introduced is the downtown <br />bicycle team, with additional resources allocated by Council to be directed to the downtown area. For <br />each of the past three years, the size of the team, days of operation and length of assignment has <br />gradually been increased as new police officers were hired and completed their training. Consistent with <br />the findings in the Downtown Public Safety Zone Activity Report dated August 17, 2010, arrests and <br />citations occurring in the DPSZ have increased along with the increased EPD presence in the downtown <br />area. <br /> <br />Fig. 1 <br /> <br />Before After <br />Offenses Difference % Change <br />Aug 05 - Sep 08 Oct 08 - Nov 11 <br />Actual 5,256 5,632 376 7.2% <br /> <br />A correlation between the increase in visible police presence and a decrease in property crimes has been <br />identified in other jurisdictions in their analysis of crime data. The increased staffing of the Eugene Police <br />downtown bike patrol team can be credited with contributions to the property crimes decrease in downtown <br />Eugene. <br /> <br /> <br />Page 3 of 16 <br /> <br />