FLINT, MI -- With Flint once again

for violent crime, police Chief Alvern Lock has a solution for getting a handle on the criminals who plague Flint neighborhoods: 200 police officers and a functioning city lockup.

Why 200? His answer is simple.

"We need that many," he said, adding that his calculation is based on his 30 years of experience. "Knowing how we operated (before staffing cuts) and now operating from the top, I know the capabilities and weaknesses of what we have, and we need a minimum of 200."

But Lock and other city leaders know getting to that number won't happen anytime soon. Even as FBI statistics show Flint has the most violent crimes per capita, the city's police force has gotten smaller.

The number of sworn officers in the department is currently hovering around 122 following recent retirements, Lock said.

Five years ago, the city had 265 officers but the number has dwindled largely because of layoffs during budget cuts spanning three mayoral administrations.

"Not having enough even before (the recent retirements), you can imagine what that means now," Lock said about Flint's staffing level. "You have fewer people doing the job and we didn't have enough to start... But they're out there and they're working and they're doing the best they can."

It's still uncertain whether Flint will be able to maintain the same number of officers it had this year, let alone add to the number of boots on street.

Emergency manager Michael Brown couldn't be reached for comment on Lock's statements but has said he doesn't expect to lay off any police or firefighters. As of this morning, Brown's office still did not have word on a C.S. Mott Foundation grant request for filling those positions.

Lock said the department needs more officers to be able to arrest offenders, respond to calls for service and be a visible presence in the community.

The city's new Public Safety Administrator

, increased partnerships with Michigan State Police and new technologies will also help knock Flint off the top of the FBI list.

Flint had 2,337 violent crimes per 100,000 people, according to the 2011 statistics released this week by the FBI. At No. 2 on the list, Detroit had 2,137 violent crimes for every 100,000 residents.

Lock said a key part of the solution is opening the city jail so officers can lodge criminals instead of handing out appearance tickets.

"Having more officers and the lockup means we can do more active police work," he said. "We need to break the cycle of violence in the city and that's how we're able to do that."

There's no cookie-cutter model for determining optimum staffing levels, but the Flint police department is currently understaffed based on its workload, said Jerry Boles, a former police chief and associate director of the Regional Community Policing Institute at Michigan State University's School of Criminal Justice.

Boles is part of a team of MSU researchers who studied the Flint police department and issued recommendations on how to function more efficiently with reduced staffing.

Boles said one method of determining ideal staffing is to figure two officers for every 1,000 people. That would put Flint at 205 officers.

But that formula is "old school" and outdated as many communities across the country are dealing with declining tax revenue and stark budget realities, Boles said.

As for the police chief's request, Boles said Lock isn't off base in requesting 200 officers -- but having a properly functioning police department is about more than just the number.

"It's about numbers and efficiencies and how you utilize them (the officers)," he said. "When we first started working with (the Flint police), they were at 180 before the reduction. If they could get back to that 180 number they could do a lot of good things."

The city's new head of public safety said the new patrol strategy -- in which the city is divided into four patrol districts -- is expected to be in place by the end of the year. The city is also on track to have the city lockup reopened by the fall, officials said.

"It's a shame," Jones said about Flint's top ranking among violent cities, "but we have put a public safety plan in place that is going to give some ownership to the police officers that are there."

Jones said the city's residents should also feel responsible.

"The ownership is not just on the police," Jones said. "Doggonit, the people in the community have got to step up and stop tolerating this stuff. Start turning in the bad guys and the bad girls.

"It's going to go back to not only good police work, but also the community for being responsible to get the information to police. We are inseparable in this... They know who the bad guys are."

As for a long-term solution, Lock said the city is still in the beginning stages of forming a plan to talk to community members about putting a police or public safety millage before voters.

Jones and Lock have said the city relies too much on grants to pay for its police and firefighters, and too often is left scrambling for funding when the grants expire.

"I appreciate the grants but it's not a permanent way of funding public safety," Lock said. "When they run out, we're still sitting here wondering what we're going to do. We need to come up with a better solution."

Staff writer Khalil AlHajal contributed to this report.

Kristin Longley can be reached at 810-429-5333. You can also follow her on Twitter @KristinLongley or subscribe on Facebook.