As of Friday Susanville Police Chief Ryan Cochran has a fully staffed police department. While delivering a presentation on the department’s budget during this week’s council meeting the chief proudly announced the good news, bringing the number of officers to a total of 17. That’s up 6 new officers within the last 6 months. The department has been struggling with less than adequate staffing. Cochran said with the additional officers his goals are to lend priority to main street patrols by dedicating a full-time traffic officer to monitor the stretch through town to make the corridor safe for pedestrians and the community. The department has also received 50,000 in funding from the Office of Traffic Safety for use of special operations and patrols throughout the year. The passage of Measure P in the June Primary, increasing the city’s sales tax by 1 percent has helped the department’s budget accommodate the growth.
