06-01-2009, 07:17 PM
Gresham Police has placed their narcotics K-9 handler and dog on patrol. A team that has spent thousands of hours training and finding hundreds of pounds of drugs and millions of dollars in drug money is out taking stolen bicycle reports. The Portland Police Dept. has four detectives working robberies, the precincts are running at minimum staffing on a daily basis and overtime is nonexistent, which means an officer can't run a lead down if it takes them past the end of the shift. To put this in perspective, if you were selling cars for a living, working under these conditions would be like selling a car, getting all the way to the customer signing the paperwork, and then going home before they could sign because time ran out.All we hear when we ask why this is happening is the "B" word - budget. What I do not see is anyone opening up the checkbook and showing us where the money is going. It seems as if we trust that the money is just not there without even asking to have it proven to us.
The real cost is what these policies are doing to our community. The human cost and the long-term financial cost of these policies are yet to be seen, but I surmise the cost will be hundreds of times what any of these entities are saving in the short term. These short term cost-cutting measures are like saving money by not putting oil in the car. Yes, you save $11.97 in oil, but down the road you need a new engine. You can't replace seasoned OSP Troopers without spending large amounts of time and money. You can't replace a narcotics detection K-9 by going to the pound, picking out a dog, and putting it in a patrol car. You do not solve crime if you do not have enough people out there to detect it. And you surely do not solve it if you do not prosecute those responsible and put them in jail.
As it stands, criminals are getting citations for their crimes. It has only been a few weeks since these policies began and already the criminals are bolstered up. They are ****y and arrogant and telling the police to "hurry up and give them their ticket so they can go." They not only know that they are not going to be booked, but they grasp the idea that they will not be called at a later date to account for their crime. This new-found "empowerment" can and will be turned into bigger and better crimes for these would-be small-time criminals as time in this system goes on.
We stand on the edge of anarchy when we choose money over the rule of law. Law is often the only light in dark places, and we as a society need to ask ourselves what is important. I am not asking for more taxes or more fiscal responsibility from our leaders; I only ask that the citizens be aware of the road we are on. And then, with this awareness, act now before we lose more than we can replace when we realize the mistakes we have made. Buying oil for this car now seems like a good idea to this police officer.
Pat Walsh is a sergeant in the Portland, Oregon Police Department.
The real cost is what these policies are doing to our community. The human cost and the long-term financial cost of these policies are yet to be seen, but I surmise the cost will be hundreds of times what any of these entities are saving in the short term. These short term cost-cutting measures are like saving money by not putting oil in the car. Yes, you save $11.97 in oil, but down the road you need a new engine. You can't replace seasoned OSP Troopers without spending large amounts of time and money. You can't replace a narcotics detection K-9 by going to the pound, picking out a dog, and putting it in a patrol car. You do not solve crime if you do not have enough people out there to detect it. And you surely do not solve it if you do not prosecute those responsible and put them in jail.
As it stands, criminals are getting citations for their crimes. It has only been a few weeks since these policies began and already the criminals are bolstered up. They are ****y and arrogant and telling the police to "hurry up and give them their ticket so they can go." They not only know that they are not going to be booked, but they grasp the idea that they will not be called at a later date to account for their crime. This new-found "empowerment" can and will be turned into bigger and better crimes for these would-be small-time criminals as time in this system goes on.
We stand on the edge of anarchy when we choose money over the rule of law. Law is often the only light in dark places, and we as a society need to ask ourselves what is important. I am not asking for more taxes or more fiscal responsibility from our leaders; I only ask that the citizens be aware of the road we are on. And then, with this awareness, act now before we lose more than we can replace when we realize the mistakes we have made. Buying oil for this car now seems like a good idea to this police officer.
Pat Walsh is a sergeant in the Portland, Oregon Police Department.