This new sector will improve response time and make the area more manageable for patrol coverage, Towle said.

        Suffolk County Police Commissioner John Gallagher said the areas of the Mastics and Shirley within the Fifth Precinct account for the most number of police calls in the entire county.

        The Mastics and Shirley have experienced an incredible population boom, Gallagher said. While other areas have experienced an increase in the volume of calls, this area has been the most dramatic.

        Gallagher said that densely populated areas necessarily have an impact upon the police in the form of calls from residents needing patrol assistance for matters such as medical needs, accidents, domestic disputes and quality of life issues.

        The new sector area, number 524, is defined by the Forge River to the east, William Floyd Parkway to the west, Channel Drive, Washington Avenue and the northern boundary of the William Floyd Estate to the south, and bounding the north, Linden Avenue, east of William Floyd Parkway, to Floyd Road North, to Pawnee Avenue to the river.

        Gallagher said that the creation of the new sector will provide a 15 percent increase in service to residents and may eventually save money as overtime hours for patrol officers may decrease. The most expensive part of creating the new sector, Gallagher explained, was re- tooling and re-configuring the highly computerized dispatching system.