Rachel Harris, co- owner of Simply Savory on Devine Street, shows the plate glass window that was smashed last week by early- morning burglars. An empty cash register was taken in the smash- and- grab- attempt. There have been dozens of break- ins recently along the Devine Street corridor, and merchants are very concerned about the safety of their businesses. Columbia police and city officials, hearing urgent complaints about dozens of store break- ins along the Devine Street corridor, had a single, united message during the two- hour meeting - "We're doing the best we can with what we have."

During a meeting Tuesday night at Rachel and David Harris' store, Simply Savory, the site of one of the most recent burglary attempts, mayor Bob Coble, police chief Tandy Carter, and other key officials also had another message - help is on the way.

"There are at least 40 officers in some stage of training at this moment," said Carter. "When they hit the street, they will be designated as first responders, which is what we need right now to create a bigger presence, a bigger footprint on the street."

Those new officers include 18 men and women whose positions have been funded with federal stimulus money and several recent hires that have reduced vacant positions in the department from 23 to five, according to Carter and Coble.

Carter also cited the recent arrest of three "career criminals" who have been tied to at least five incidents and could be linked to as many as a dozen more.

Capt. Mike Hendrix passed out mug shot pictures of three men who have been arrested in the past two weeks - David Sligh, Sammie Green, and Gregory Campbell - and connected with several burglaries on Devine Street. The trio remain in jail pending further charges.

Sligh, who was arrested last Friday at the Greyhound Bus Station on Gervais Street, has been charged with four break- ins, with police looking at charging him with five more "that fit his MO (modus operandi)," Hendrix said. "All three of these men are career criminals who have no permanent addresses. This is the way they make their living."

Sligh was released from Broad River Correctional Institute July 3, according to Hendrix, and immediately started working in the Devine Street area.

The other two men will also be charged in connection with some of the 16 or more break- ins reported in the area from April to August.

Despite the arrests, many of the merchants say they still don't feel safe from future attacks, and their confidence in the police is non- existent.

"We opened in 2002, and since then have had three break- ins and one attempted armed robbery," said Tracy Wright, vice president of Just the Thing. "I don't feel comfortable, and I don't feel confident in the police."

Wright said she has been alerted three times to late- night burglar alarms at the store, has called 911 from her house near Fort Jackson, yet "every time I have beaten the police to the store and have had to wait in my car for them to arrive."

"The list of my frustration is endless," she said. "I feel like I'm losing the battle here."

Other merchants complained that Columbia police detectives' caseloads are double or triple the national average, making it impossible for them to fully investigate the incidents.

However, Carter said, there are alternative means to deal with the "crime hot spots" occurring in the city like the Devine Street corridor.

"We are looking at innovative ways to handle these areas, including noticing patterns in the break- ins and assigning extra personnel to those times and days," Carter said. "We have to do the best we can with what we have."

City councilors Daniel Rickenmann and Belinda Gergel, who attended the meeting, said they supported the merchants in their concerns, but warned that adding additional resources to the force meant taking away from other areas of the budget.

"We support you and we are saying to you, 'you have our full attention,'" Gergel said. "These incidents are not acceptable."

Rickenmann said the council has been looking hard at the budget, but that economic times have forced them to squeeze every penny, sometimes to the detriment of other programs.

"We're willing to look at everything, including adding to the force," Rickenmann said, "but something will have to be taken away somewhere else."

Coble and City Manager Steve Gantt said future budgets would include hiring more officers as the economy improves. In addition, the October move of the south precinct from Millwood to Devine Street will provide a boost to the police profile in the Devine Street area.

"It will be in a much more visible area," Gant said. "This will provide a great morale boost to the police to be in a much better building. Devine Street will benefit from it also."

Carter emphasized that merchants who feel threatened or suspect that criminals may be casing their stores for future burglaries should call 911 immediately.

"Don't ever try to hold anyone until we get there," he warned. "These people have put no value on human life, and they will kill you."

Police also encouraged merchants to communicate with each other about incidents occurring along the corridor, either by phone tree or email, and to continue to have regular meetings. To that end, Coble said he, police officials, and city personnel would meet again in two weeks with updates and answers to merchants' questions.

Perry Lancaster, president of the Devine Street Association, said he thought the meeting was positive for both parties.

"I think it was unbelievable to have all these city resources here," Lancaster said. "I felt that it was a very good meeting."