NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — We're asking tough questions for people who live in or visit Niagara Falls.
Members of the community are demanding answers from police about what they're doing to reduce crime as tourism season approaches.
"Do you think there's more of a crime problem now than there was a couple of years ago?" asked 2 On Your Side’s Kelly Dudzik.
"I think we go through peaks and valleys. I mean, I've been in this department for 29 years, and we've had times when we've had a string of violent crimes, and then we've had times when we've gone without any crime for a while," Niagara Falls Police Superintendent Thomas Licata said.
Both the Niagara Falls Police superintendent and the mayor told us crime is down, but that it’s all about perception.
"I don't really care about the statistics as much as the perception, and my feelings are that if the Pine Avenue Revitalization Committee is feeling that there's crime there, then we have to address it," Licata said.
On Monday, someone robbed DiCamillo bakery on Pine Avenue prompting politicians and business owners to hold a news conference Tuesday morning.
"We're going to use all of the investigative tools that we possibly can to apprehend that person and hopefully stop the crime. That's our focus," Licata said.
"What can you do to prevent the crimes?" Dudzik asked.
"Well, we can step up patrols, and we are obviously looking at some things. In fact, the mayor just called me recently, and he's trying to initiate Safe Shopping Days, which is a program that we had in the past," Licata said.
Added Mayor Paul Dyster: "Part of the idea here is to show the flag to let people see more police officers on the street in places where maybe people are feeling threatened."
Dyster is proposing using roughly $50,000 of the city's remaining casino revenue over the next 15 weeks to increase both uniformed and plainclothes officers in the business districts.
"One of the things that was brought up at the press conference this morning was bring in additional officers from other agencies. Probably partially my fault because I don't really get out in front of things like this and toot our own horn, but we did that Thursday. We had an extra 20 officers in the city directed at the hot spots of the city where the most violent crimes occurred in the last few weeks," Licata said.
Dyster says if the city council approves the funding for the Safe Shopping Days initiative, the police superintendent would decide how to use the $50,000.
MORE ON WGRZ.COM