TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — More police could be headed downtown as the area’s development agency works to make it safer for the people who go there.
Tucson Police are short staffed but still able to work off-duty jobs for extra pay. Now Rio Nuevo is planning to hire off duty officers to make downtown safer.
It’s Rio Nuevo’s mission to help downtown boom with a stronger mix of offices, apartments, restaurants and entertainment.
Cities around the country are becoming more concerned about rising crime in their downtowns. To keep Tucson’s downtown an attractive place to live, work and play, Rio Nuevo is planning to hire off duty police for a higher police presence downtown.
Rio Nuevo board member Chris Sheafe says, “It’s absolutely paramount that this community avoid some of the terrible things that are going on in other major metropolitan centers. This is the heartbeat of Tucson and we need to keep it a very secure environment.”
Rio Nuevo is planning to hire two additional officers for five hours per day.
In other action, Randi Dorman, the developer planning to convert historic bungalows along Broadway into a restaurant complex, says as she got deeper into the project she found taxes and costs for installing utilities were higher than expected. She’s asking Rio Nuevo’s help covering some of those costs.
The Bungalow Block is an important part of Rio Nuevo’s plans to develop Broadway’s Sunshine Mile. The board decided to consider an assistance plan at its next meeting.
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