(LaPorte, IN) - LaPorte Mayor, Tom Dermody, is looking for new ways to keep more police officers on the streets. Dermody says the department is 10 officers short of where it needs to be.

One thing being examined is having others take and file reports on less serious offenses and complaints so officers now bogged down by paperwork can spend more time on the streets.

Dermody says he’s also looking to possibly stop officers from doing things firefighters, paramedics, and mental health experts can do better like administering Narcan to overdose patients. Dermody, a former State Representative, will be entering his sixth month in office tomorrow.