My Word: Public safety must be priority

By Samuel C. Hoffman
May 31, 2009

The venues may be important, but public safety is priceless.

Three years ago, at the height of a particularly bad crime wave, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer appointed the SAFE Orlando Task Force to recommend plans for a safer city. This group met diligently over several months and released a report, which in part called for more police officers.

To their credit, the mayor and the City Council implemented a public-safety initiative to add 75 officers to the streets of Orlando. We never saw the final 25, and it appears we will lose most of the remainder. Currently, the number of police-officer positions has been reduced by the city from 782 to 757, with another 34 scheduled for elimination on Sept. 30.

Crime really hasn't slowed to the point where you can lay off officers. Just turn on the evening news; read the morning newspaper. Ask yourself: Will I be safer with fewer police officers on the street?



We don't think so. Forbes magazine recently ranked Orlando as the sixth most-dangerous city in America. Ask any police officer who patrols your streets so you can be safe in your home about the violence. The number of armed confrontations officers face has increased, and physical force against officers is routine. Attacks on residents, as well as visitors, have also become increasingly violent.

The city's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report as of Sept. 30, 2008, indicates the city was overfunding several areas of the budget. One example, the unreserved fund, has a balance that exceeds recommended ranges by 3 percent, or $12 million over the maximum. The same is true for several other fund balances, which exceed the established ranges by 20 percent to 35 percent.

The logical reason, from our perspective, for the excessive amounts of money being collected is the increased burden placed on the city to follow through on proposed venues for sports and performing arts. While they may be worthy projects, nothing outweighs public safety, as was seen in a Chamber of Commerce survey, which ranked public safety first and the venues dead last.

It is understood that everyone must seek solutions in times of crisis, and for that reason, the Fraternal Order of Police worked with Chief Val Demings to examine areas that could be cut without reducing the number of officers on the street. We submitted plans to city administrators who ignored our proposals and currently propose eliminating more officers.

Don't buy into the hysteria of this budget crisis, especially when there are alternatives that will promote, not harm, public safety. Dyer, in three of his budget addresses, has declared a deficit. Last year's was $31 million, even though fund balances exceeded established ranges.

Samuel C. Hoffman of Mount Dora is chairman of the Fraternal Order of Police. He retired from the Orlando Police Department in 1995 after 23 years.