Originally Posted by
k9riso
The shifts are short. So are the CST units on the east side. Manpower was reallocated to the west because of a slight percentage increase in captured crimes. This is why there’s an initiative about every week. The whole agency is short of positions who wear a gun belt. Detective units have and will run fully staffed, that’s just how it is. I’d love to have more people, more money, a Tahoe, and maybe an MP5 but it’s not gonna happen so I make the best of it.
Your statement that CST units are pointless is a little off base. When administrated properly the concept of proactive policing and intelligence based policing are extremely effective at reducing crime. While these units reduce crime it reduces the work load(read Limas) for patrol. There’s a key phrase above in “administrated properly”. I agree, without argument, that an adjunct traffic unit making criminal traffic arrests all day will not have any substantial impact on crime other than to possibly displace it due to observed police activity.
In SE we work with a different strategy to develop intelligence and target prolific offenders as opposed to arresting residents willy nilly. We routinely clear burglaries previously NFL’d using intel developed from proactive arrests. This approach has led to a substantial reduction in SE. SE still suffers from shifts short of deputies even some of the CST people TDY’d back to patrol.
The key to ANY proactive program is the people. Seasoned, intelligent, and motivated deputies should be in the CST spots but frequently this is not the case due to the shifting schedule. As a patrol deputy you have the power to proactively police and develop leads\targets. Patrol is the backbone of this agency because they touch every call first. They also talk to more people every day than any other unit which gives them more chances to gather intel. Every shift has time to be proactive(dayshift has it early, nightshift has it at the end) so take advantage and make a good name for yourself.
Rather than complain about the CST program you could join it and work positively from within. Come to SE, we are progressive and open minded as to strategy because we have a great chain of command who gives us the freedom to use our skills to close cases. If you’d like to discuss options for success in your district feel free to shoot me an email.
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