TAMPA - The city's new police chief, Steve Hogue, says he wants a force that's well-equipped and nimble.Whether his officers are dealing with a street sign dangerously shrouded by overgrown trees or a corner plagued by brazen drug dealers, Hogue said, he wants a patrol system that responds with speed and works to keep problems from happening again.

To that end, Hogue announced big changes Tuesday: a major reorganization of the Police Department's patrol system and a push to retrain officers in community policing.

And within a month, the department will start training its 500 patrol officers in the mantra that Hogue laid out Tuesday: "Don't just answer calls. Fix the problems in your area, and take responsibility."District 3 will encompass eastern Tampa, from the Hillsborough River east to the city limits, from south of E Hillsborough Avenue to Tampa Bay.District 1 covers the city west of the Hillsborough River, from Hillsborough Avenue down through South Tampa to the area around MacDill Air Force Base.District 2 starts at Hillsborough Avenue and extends north to cover New Tampa and the University of South Florida.The three districts vary in size, but Hogue pointed to a department analysis showing they're equal in terms of the number and nature of calls for service.District 3's boundaries include the area east of downtown known for problems with drugs, prostitution and violent crimes.Hogue and Mayor Pam Iorio have said their priority is to improve life for residents there by reducing crime.But Hogue also said the reorganization ensures all residents will get proper attention from police, no matter how big or small a neighborhood's woes.The traffic and speeding concerns of New Tampa residents are as important as those of Southeast Seminole Heights residents trying to chase out prostitutes, Hogue said."Our officers will look for pot holes, street lights that are out, right along with the drugs and other bigger things," he said.Tuesday's announcement comes less than four months into Hogue's tenure, and is the second step in a three-pronged plan aimed at changing the way Tampa police protect residents.Soon after taking over for retired Chief Bennie Holder in September, Hogue announced he was eliminating the administrative position of deputy chief. He said communication within the department would improve with one less layer of bureaucracy.The reorganization outlined Tuesday is step two. The final stage is training officers to embrace full responsibility for their patrol area and the people who live and work there."Before, we had a specialized mentality of, "Oh, that's not my area. Call the detectives, call the auto theft guys,' " said police spokesman Capt. Bob Guidara. "Every officer now has a stake in everyone's problem."The third district will cost an estimated $80,000 a year, but Hogue said the mayor might cover the cost by leaving some vacant city positions unfilled.The changes won't require the hiring of additional officers, though a handful of administrative personnel will go back to the streets."And we'll be doing more of that in the future," Hogue said.By disbanding the department's Special Operations division, Hogue was able to move specialized units into the districts.For example, each district will have two QUAD units, which use plainclothes officers to battle street-level narcotics sales. Each district also will have Street Anti-Crime units to deal with outbreaks of car burglaries and other problems. As is the case now, each district will have its own detective unit."The districts will have the crime-fighting tools to immediately deal with problems," said Guidara. "Before, we had a lot of holes."Officers will have smaller zones to police, because the reorganization increases the number of patrol zones from 45 to 48. The changes also provide around-the-clock coverage of the city that wasn't there before. Currently there's a gap between 3 and 6 a.m., Guidara said.Each district will be led by a major with the power to make decisions that best suit the district's challenges, Hogue said. A grant coordinator in each district will help the majors secure state and federal money to meet those needs.Maj. Mike George will lead District 1; Maj. Jane Castor will oversee District 2; and Maj. George McNamara will lead District 3.   Until a central location within east Tampa is found for District 3 offices, it will be housed inside police headquarters at 411 N Franklin St.   The department had three districts from 1996 to 2001, but the third district was basically 40 to 50 officers patrolling Ybor City, Guidara said. In October 2001, police officials disbanded the district and folded it into Special Operations.Hogue said he started planning the changes about two months ago, and they had gone through "too many changes to count." Drafts were sent to the police union, West Central Florida PBA, and to law enforcement personnel.Jim Diamond, senior vice president of the West Central Florida PBA, called the changes "progressive.""It's in line with the mayor's commitment to that part of the community," Diamond said, referring to east Tampa.Still, Hogue knows the reorganization is a big shift that won't sit well with some officers."Some will embrace it; others will resist. But we're moving forward as a department."- Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler can be reached at 226-3373 or svansickler@sptimes.com.
 
New staffing levelsA look at how each of Tampa police's three patrol districts will be staffed:
 
District 11 major, 2 captains, 8 lieutenants, 17 sergeants, 16 corporals, 7 detectives, 176 officers.
 
District 21 major, 2 captains, 8 lieutenants, 19 sergeants, 20 corporals, 7 detectives, 195 officers.
 
District 31 major, 2 captains, 8 lieutenants, 17 sergeants, 16 corporals, 7 detectives, 196 officers.

- Source: Tampa Police Department