PORTAGE | When Mark Becker became Portage police chief on Jan. 1, he told his officers to increase their traffic stops by 10 percent.

He didn't institute a "ticket quota," since the officers remain free to issue warnings. His goal is to have the police force so active so people know that if they speed, they'll be stopped. He doesn't want police cars sitting in parking lots for long periods.

"I'm stopping people," Becker said. "I'm on my third ticket book."

Becker is also kicking off innovative new programs, like the Stop It Task Force.

"The concept is simply this: a team of five officers that will be assigned to stop whatever the problem of the day is," Becker said.

Because they will be freed from answering routine calls and won't always drive police-looking vehicles, they can stake out areas and look for burglars, and they can tackle problems ranging from drugs or prostitution at the motels to speeding in school zones.

Becker would like to get other police agencies to assign manpower to the Stop It Task Force -- hopefully making it an eight- or nine-person force -- so they could tackle a Portage problem and then swarm in another city. The group should be operational by fall.

He's also assigning a Portage officer to the FBI GRIT Task Force in Gary and an extra officer to the Porter County Drug Task Force. The department also joined the Northwest Indiana Major Crimes Task Force to share detectives whenever there's a big crime.

Becker, an FBI agent for 32 years, said it is more difficult to fund objectives at the local level than the federal level, but the city is finding money to do a badly needed police station renovation.

Becker has made it known he expects officers to be absolutely honest and to never embarrass the department. In return, he will treat everyone fairly and with respect, and he will get them the training they need to be their best.

"When people think of the Portage Police Department, they will think of it as the most professional police department in Northwest Indiana," he said.

Becker started a Citizens Academy to bring everyday residents in and share with them a glimpse of what the Police Department does and why.

He also has set goals like working with the schools to stop truancy and catch people from outside of Portage who are attending Portage schools.

"You've got to have a road map or you're driving around aimlessly," Becker said.