Proper police procedures and police and citizens’ rights were the subject of a public meeting Thursday night in Covington.

About 30 members of the Covington community met with Covington Mayor Candace Watkins and Police Chief Richard Palmisano in a public safety forum designed to dispel misconceptions and define proper police protocol.

Palmisano and Watkins began by stating the city’s arrest rate was cut in half from 1,000 in 2006 to 500 in 2008. They said the city has made a conscious decision to eliminate drug trafficking. This means that sometimes people are stopped, searched or have their vehicle searched. As a result, innocent people are sometimes stopped as well. Palmisano said many times a person seems suspicious or is associated with someone suspicious and stopped. It is proper and legal for police to pat someone down to determine if they are armed. This may be the first thing a policeman does before acquiring identification or questioning a suspect, he said.

Citizens attending the forum asked why the police do not have better communication with them, adding a better relationship between citizens in the neighborhoods and police would help stop crime.

Palmisano said unfortunately the city does not have funding to support a community policing unit. He said officers involved in community policing should not be involved in investigating crime but should be able to help citizens find needed resources and assistance. At this time, it would take officers off the street and away from other duties, Palmisano said.

He also explained the organization of the force, which is divided into many different units, including four patrol units, a traffic unit, a street crimes unit and a criminal investigation unit. The street crimes unit is a proactive enforcement unit that tries to identify crimes that are occurring, said Palmisano.

Watkins said she felt the meeting was successful because it got people together to discuss their concerns and gave the police an opportunity to discuss their rights and concerns as well and dispel misconceptions on some procedures.