Police officials say an upcoming realignment of some of the city’s nine divisions will put more cops on the beat in the Peninsula area, giving officers more time to patrol troubled spots and prevent crime. As of Sept. 17, the department’s Western Division will give up the North Park and Burlingame neighborhoods to the adjacent Mid-City Division, but Western will retain the same number of officers, according to David Surwilo, community services officer. A smaller boundary means police will be able to spend less time “being a slave to the radio,” Surwilo said. “Every time we turn on the engine, we get a call. Too much time has been spent taking reports.” Increasingly, officers have been called away from the Peninsula area to handle calls in North Park, an area that has seen an increase in condominiums, restaurants and bars. The decision to shrink Western resulted from a recent analysis of crime trends and workloads, Surwilo said. The change gives police more time to be proactive, Surwilo said. This might include activities like checking for homeless populations under the bridges along the bike path near Interstate 8 or investigating an unsafe intersection. “We want to listen to our citizens. They need to tell us what their problems are in their neighborhoods,” Surwilo said. With the subtraction of North Park and Burlingame, Western will include 13 neighborhoods west of Texas Street and south of Interstate 8. These areas are Ocean Beach, Point Loma Heights, Roseville-Fleetridge, Sunset Cliffs, Loma Portal, La Playa, Wooded Area, Midtown, Midway District, Mission Hills, University Heights and Hillcrest. It also will include three neighborhoods north of Interstate 8: Linda Vista, Mission Valley West and Morena. Roughly 140 officers are assigned to the division, Surwilo said. The Western Division headquarters is located at 5215 Gaines St. A neighborhood storefront facility is located at 3750 Sports Arena Blvd. The phone number is (619) 531-1540.