Authorities hoping to restore an image of safety to The Waterfront, where two people have been slain in as many months, stated a universal fact yesterday: You can't have police officers at every turn.

"You could put 100 officers down there and you'd be an occupied place. But then again, who's going to foot the bill and afford that?" Homestead police Chief Jeffrey DeSimone said.

"We would need a cop at every store," said Homestead Mayor Betty Esper. "Can anybody do that? No. We can't put a cop in every restaurant. What can I tell you? And if they're gonna rob me, they're not gonna rob me in front of a cop."

A robber fatally shot restaurant worker Brian Lee, 19, of West Mifflin, early Sunday as he and a manager closed Damon's Grill in the complex's West Homestead section. That followed a June 28 shooting that killed Brendan Brooks of Homewood as he left the Eat'n Park restaurant near Damon's.

Three police departments and a private security force respond to problems at The Waterfront, the sprawling entertainment, retail and residential complex that spans Homestead, Munhall and West Homestead.

Only one marked police car exclusively patrols the 430-acre grounds two evenings a week -- a cruiser from Homestead on Fridays from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. and one from West Homestead on Saturdays from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Destinie Doyle, a 27-year-old server at Yokoso Japanese Steak House & Sushi Bar at The Waterfront, doesn't think that's enough.

Ms. Doyle leaves the restaurant with several co-workers from the back door, usually between 10:30 and 11:30 p.m. Despite cameras installed by her employers, Ms. Doyle said she does not feel safe, particularly after the two recent shootings.

"There's never any police officers down here. There's never any security driving around ever. The only place I ever see them is sitting at Dave & Buster's or sitting at Loews [movie theater]," she said. "We're all easy targets."

Randy Winkler, 32, who works maintenance at Dave & Buster's, said he "wasn't fazed" by Sunday's shooting, but "my mom told me to be careful, like, five times" before he went to work yesterday. Though he doesn't fear for his own safety, he said some female employees ask male employees to escort them outside when they work after dark.

Mr. Winkler said he's seen police officers in Dave & Buster's parking lot long after the restaurant has closed for the night, and it's up to The Waterfront to toughen its security force.

Chief DeSimone, his counterparts in Munhall and West Homestead, and Ms. Esper said numerous other officers are at The Waterfront at various times, so the scant number dedicated to patrolling the complex doesn't tell the whole story.

"We have always patrolled The Waterfront area. As a matter of fact, that night our guys were on a call not too far from Damon's and were on the scene within minutes," West Homestead police Chief Christopher Deasy said.

Officers also are hired privately to work security at Dave & Buster's. Police on patrol in the boroughs late at night might stop by Eat'n Park for a bite, according to Ms. Esper. And officers responding to various complaints at the complex typically drive through on the way out.

"At any given time there's a pretty fair chance you're going to pass a Munhall police officer down there," Munhall police Chief Patrick Campbell said. "There's usually a car at The Waterfront either responding to something or just on routine patrol. Our guy is not going to stop and turn around where the borough line ends."

Police chiefs urged workers to call for escorts to their cars late at night if required. They said they would be happy to respond if a patrol car were available.

A meeting about security is slated for this week between the police chiefs and mayors of the municipalities and representatives of the development's management company, Developers Diversified Realty Corp. in Ohio.

Not all stores are handled by the company, though, including Damon's.

"The safety of the shopping center's customers, tenants and staff is a top priority. While the recent incidents have not taken place on our property, we have increased security patrols," the realty group's spokeswoman, Robyn Lybarger, said. "For security reasons we don't discuss any details of our security plans."

Ms. Esper said she plans to ask the company to install security cameras at the handful of entrances and exits so police could check the license plates of people leaving the premises after a crime.

Chief Deasy endorsed that. He said he would push for more of The Waterfront's unarmed security guards and a bigger fund to hire police officers to patrol the complex.

"I'm a small borough. I don't have the resources to hire other officers," Chief Deasy said.

Moonlighting officers cost $45 an hour to hire.

In the meantime, West Homestead officers will spend more time at The Waterfront.

"I instructed my guys that every spare minute they have to dedicate to The Waterfront," Chief Deasy said.

Allegheny County police said yesterday they had no new information to release about the investigation into Mr. Lee's death, other than he appeared to be an innocent victim.

Around 12:40 a.m., the killer entered Damon's through the back door.

"It was propped open, and we know the suspect entered that way and both the manager and the victim were inside when they were confronted by the robber," county homicide Lt. Bill Palmer said. "The robber snuck in through the unsecured back door and the confrontation happened inside. The victim did not put up a fight. It was minimal resistance."

On Sunday, a co-worker of Mr. Lee's at Damon's said that she had "told them and told them to lock that back door -- I knew something like this was going to happen."

Damon's spokesman Brad Ritterspach yesterday said: "Our focus right now is on supporting the Lee family and our grieving co-workers. We continue to work with authorities as they investigate this tragic crime. We do have policies to ensure the safety of our guests and employees. However, as the investigation is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to discuss them at this time.

"The sad fact is that a young man was killed. We are hopeful that the person responsible will soon be apprehended."

Contrary to public perception that might exist after two homicides in a short time, Chief DeSimone said crime is down in recent years in his section of the complex, which accounts for about 50 percent of The Waterfront.

In the 1990s, he said, there would be about 1,000 to 1,100 calls per month in the summertime for The Waterfront and the borough. Last month, there were 687. "I think that indicates things have gotten a lot better, don't you?" Chief DeSimone said.

Chief Deasy said he believes The Waterfront remains a safe place to go, but security issues need to be dealt with.

"This is a problem that we need to address. I'm not one to fluff it off and say it could happen anywhere because it happened here. It happened in my back yard, and we're going to do something about it."