ST. THOMAS - As he defended his $65 million General Fund budget request, Acting Police Commissioner Novelle Francis Jr. said on Tuesday that the department continues to face challenges and needs adequate funding to achieve its mission.

"Throughout the United States we are seeing increases in criminal activities as police departments around the country are being forced to slash their budgets," Francis said in testimony Tuesday before the Senate Committee on Appropriations and Budget. "The criminal element monitors law enforcement funding trends targeting areas with reduced police protection. We must be mindful of this fact."

Francis' $65,052,959 Fiscal Year 2010 General Fund request represents a 6.72 percent increase over the department's FY 2009 budget. The request mirrors Gov. John deJongh Jr.'s proposal.

The acting commissioner said the current fiscal year "has been filled with many challenges."

"The Virgin Islands Police Department has chosen to view these challenges as opportunities rather than obstacles," he said.

Those challenges include manpower issues, rising violence in the territory, the need for updated equipment and the steps the department must take to meet mandates for improvement after a U.S. Justice Department investigation into its use of excessive force and a U.S. Interior Department Inspector General's audit of its evidence rooms.

Since March, the V.I. Police Department has been operating under a consent decree with the U.S. Justice Department mandating that police put new policies and procedures in place to prevent improper use of force by officers and to fully investigate citizen complaints.

In addition, the U.S. Interior Department Inspector General's Office in April released an audit of the department's handling of evidence that found pervasive deficiencies and recommended immediate measures to improve.

"Compliance with these two major revision requirements will create a major drain on our fiscal resources," Francis said Tuesday.

He indicated that the department has so far met all deadlines of the consent decree and is in the process of selecting and hiring an independent monitor as mandated by the decree.

In the wake of Interior's audit, the department also is in the process of relocating evidence rooms on both St. Thomas and St. Croix, he said. Certification training for property officers has been scheduled and a request for bids to obtain required equipment has gone out, he said.

"The estimated cost of correcting the problems outlined in the audit report is approximately $1 million, which is in our FY 2010 budget request," he said.

Francis described the department's manpower issues as a balancing act, where police must weigh operational needs against available manpower. He said the department has instituted some restrictions and policies on overtime.

"While we attempt to manage the overtime expenditures, we are ever aware of the safety of our officers and the public," he said, adding that "unforeseen demands" on the force - ranging from Hurricane Omar and an additional week of Carnival Village on St. Croix to initiatives aimed at fighting rising crime - have strained the department's resources.

Until more officers are recruited and trained, even with the restrictions, the department will be faced with a large overtime liability, Francis testified.

Under questioning, the acting commissioner said that the department spent $8.9 million on overtime last year, although only $4.4 million was budgeted. Paying the remainder of the overtime ate away at the funding slotted for vacant positions, he said.

For FY 2010, $10 million has been budgeted for overtime, he said. In an interview, Francis said that the 2010 budget request also should fund the department's 182 vacant positions, positions ranging from rank-and-file officers to civilian personnel.

In his testimony, Francis described efforts to recruit and train officers, from local initiatives to efforts in Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland.

The territory has seen a dramatic surge in homicide and rape reports between FY 2008 and FY 2009, Francis said.

Most of the homicides were gang or turf related and retaliatory in nature, Francis said. He attributed the increase in rape reports to a mixture of "social breakdown" and more confidence in reporting, which he said resulted from work done by social service agencies.

On the positive side, for the same time period - Oct. 1 to May 30 of the two fiscal years - Francis pointed to an increase in arrests, accompanied by a drop in reports of stolen vehicles, robberies and theft. He also said that in the past year, police have also seen greater involvement from the community.

"I want to thank you guys for the work you do. However, we still have a long way to go," Sen. Carlton Dowe, chairman of the committee, said after Francis concluded his statement.

The V.I. Police Department also expects to receive some stimulus funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, including $2.5 million in a Justice Assistance Grant and $143,662 through the Violence Against Women Act, Francis said.

- Contact Joy Blackburn at 774-8772 ext. 303 or e-mail jblackburn@dailynews.vi.