Police cuts nationwide: Crime soars; Arm yourselves.

[bucs90]

As you all know, I'm unapologetically pro-police, and get angry when places like, say, Charlotte slash police budgets while sending millions to unneccessary shit, like a new NFL football stadium. So, what is the cost of this austerity? Well, a few examples:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/04/u...o-sees-rise-in-crime.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Sacramento did massive cuts. No more narcotics or gang units. No more traffic unit. Detectives only follow-up on the most serious crimes- murdery, rape, etc. Many minor crimes, like theft that past occurred, they dont even respond to. One bad scenario described: A patrol cop stops a car, finds a bunch of meth, and has info that the driver's home has a meth lab. BUT, due to short manpower and no overtime allowance, there was no one and no time to do the 8-10 hour process of obtaining a search warrant, executing the warrant, and securing the meth lab. SO WHAT HAPPENS? THe dirver is arrested for possession, but the meth lab (maybe your neighbor?) remains untouched.

Private detectives investigate more cases amid police budget cuts - latimes.com
In Camden, NJ, and many places in America, frustrated citizens are having to resort to hiring private investigators to do things that the cops no longer have time or manpower to investigate. Hey, the right wing's dream- replace cops with private security (who have no enforcement power though). Lots of quotes of angry people with the theme "The police wont do anything" or that it takes too long to investigate. What did they THINK would happen? That their leaders could slash the budget, yet, maintain the same manpower, capability, equipment, etc, to do the job?

Expect this trend to grow more and more as cities and states cut from the least-sympathetic of all government roles: The police. Yep. You NEVER hear politicians talking about police. You rarely hear citizens speak of it. Police officers and departments are NOT vote getters or losers. They arent issues you'll lose an election on. Thus, they're a very unsympathetic, easy target for budget cuts.

Just remember that next time you or a loved one or a friend call 911. If the guy is in a bad mood when he gets there, he's likely 5-6 reports deep already, with no allowed overtime and a SGT yelling at him to find a way to make 18 hours worth of work fit into an 8 hour day..............and who knows, theres a chance nobody will show up at all for your call.

But rest assured, the folks in your nearby gated community will not have had to pay one penny more towards the budget that funds the 911 program.

 

[S.J.]

We could have cut more than $85 billion out of the budget by closing loopholes (like the Republicans proposed), but Obama insisted on a tax increase instead, so any discomfort resulting from sequestration is on Obama.

 

[bucs90]

We could have cut more than $85 billion out of the budget by closing loopholes (like the Republicans proposed), but Obama insisted on a tax increase instead, so any discomfort resulting from sequestration is on Obama.

Well, this stuff isn't from the sequester, its been a trend for a few years. Some of it is necessary, like the bloated salaries in some union departments. But a LOT of it is simply cities and states feeling like there is enough anti-govt sentiment to cut funding for the big departments like police and fire, and funnel money to pet projects. Police are a very unsympathetic target for budget cuts. People get more pissed when the city's rec dept cuts weekend soccer leagues than when the city cuts police manpower.

But yeah, the Democrats have been no better to cops, which is why most cops never voted Democrat historically. But now the GOP has jumped on the anti-police bandwagon. Fuck 'em. Both parties are full of pu$$ies who've never gone to work carrying a gun, and have no clue, NO CLUE, what really goes on around their city.

 

[francoHFW]

The Pubs are for closing loopholes? Not on this planet. Stalling tactic.

Police should have been more for Dems all this time. Myths ...

 

[tooAlive]

The Pubs are for closing loopholes? Not on this planet. Stalling tactic.

Police should have been more for Dems all this time. Myths ...

There shouldn't be any loopholes to begin with. We should have a fair, simple, flat tax rate for everybody without any loopholes.

And cutting police to fund an NFL stadium? Ridiculous. Have the team owners pay for it. The Panthers aren't even that good anyways..

 

[Annie]

We could have cut more than $85 billion out of the budget by closing loopholes (like the Republicans proposed), but Obama insisted on a tax increase instead, so any discomfort resulting from sequestration is on Obama.

Well, this stuff isn't from the sequester, its been a trend for a few years. Some of it is necessary, like the bloated salaries in some union departments. But a LOT of it is simply cities and states feeling like there is enough anti-govt sentiment to cut funding for the big departments like police and fire, and funnel money to pet projects. Police are a very unsympathetic target for budget cuts. People get more pissed when the city's rec dept cuts weekend soccer leagues than when the city cuts police manpower.

But yeah, the Democrats have been no better to cops, which is why most cops never voted Democrat historically. But now the GOP has jumped on the anti-police bandwagon. Fuck 'em. Both parties are full of pu$$ies who've never gone to work carrying a gun, and have no clue, NO CLUE, what really goes on around their city.

While Chicago and Cook County are running into more problems, the suburbs in DuPage are regaining their footing. Why? They cut when the economy went south under Bush, they kept cutting with Obama for 3 years.

Then they began to recover. They didn't lay off or cut hours, they let attrition work and halted hiring. They cut training they wanted, but could put off. They didn't add equipment that they'd have liked. While they started out with 'rainy day funds,' after 3 years, those were pretty well depleted. With a few exceptions the unions worked with the city and county.

Now they are hiring and stepping up training. They also have a renewed outlook on prioritizing what's essential, wanted, and 'would be nice, but not necessary.' This is in IL., a state that failed to meet what had been promised to localities. Not just for police/fire, but schools too. Luckily for most of the suburbs, they had qualified people on the boards of each and managed to make it through and continue to do so.

 

[S.J.]

The Pubs are for closing loopholes? Not on this planet. Stalling tactic.

Police should have been more for Dems all this time. Myths ...

Loopholes are a Democratic Party conception. They can call for higher taxes (to appease the class envy crowd), while giving their friends and themselves a way to pay lower taxes. When are you liberals gonna wake up and smell the coffee? You've all been had.

 

[Annie]

We could have cut more than $85 billion out of the budget by closing loopholes (like the Republicans proposed), but Obama insisted on a tax increase instead, so any discomfort resulting from sequestration is on Obama.

Well, this stuff isn't from the sequester, its been a trend for a few years. Some of it is necessary, like the bloated salaries in some union departments. But a LOT of it is simply cities and states feeling like there is enough anti-govt sentiment to cut funding for the big departments like police and fire, and funnel money to pet projects. Police are a very unsympathetic target for budget cuts. People get more pissed when the city's rec dept cuts weekend soccer leagues than when the city cuts police manpower.

But yeah, the Democrats have been no better to cops, which is why most cops never voted Democrat historically. But now the GOP has jumped on the anti-police bandwagon. Fuck 'em. Both parties are full of pu$$ies who've never gone to work carrying a gun, and have no clue, NO CLUE, what really goes on around their city.

While Chicago and Cook County are running into more problems, the suburbs in DuPage are regaining their footing. Why? They cut when the economy went south under Bush, they kept cutting with Obama for 3 years.

Then they began to recover. They didn't lay off or cut hours, they let attrition work and halted hiring. They cut training they wanted, but could put off. They didn't add equipment that they'd have liked. While they started out with 'rainy day funds,' after 3 years, those were pretty well depleted. With a few exceptions the unions worked with the city and county.

Now they are hiring and stepping up training. They also have a renewed outlook on prioritizing what's essential, wanted, and 'would be nice, but not necessary.' This is in IL., a state that failed to meet what had been promised to localities. Not just for police/fire, but schools too. Luckily for most of the suburbs, they had qualified people on the boards of each and managed to make it through and continue to do so.

Luckily for the districts I teach in and pay taxes for, they know how to cut back, CPS don't and the rural districts can't:

In the News: State owes public schools $768 million | catalyst-chicago.org

In the News: State owes public schools $768 million

By: Cassandra West / March 04, 2013

Two-thirds of Illinois school districts are operating in the red, according to the Illinois State Board of Education. Since 2010, the state has come up lacking in general state aid for Illinois public school districts every year, shorting them $518 million for the 2012-13 school year alone. In all, the state owes public school districts $768 million, according to the Rockford Register Star.

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

How does cutting the growth of federal spending cut local police salaries... do you people really think this stupid shit through?

 

[bucs90]

How does cutting the growth of federal spending cut local police salaries... do you people really think this stupid shit through?

Because the Feds give police grants, in particular to cities with high crime, because they usually dont have a good tax base, and the only way to attract/retain good cops is to be competitive in the job market, and they dont have the tax base to do that, so the Feds grant some money to make ends meet so cities like...say, Detroit....dont become like Baghdad.

 

[bigrebnc1775]

As you all know, I'm unapologetically pro-police, and get angry when places like, say, Charlotte slash police budgets while sending millions to unneccessary shit, like a new NFL football stadium. So, what is the cost of this austerity? Well, a few examples:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/04/u...o-sees-rise-in-crime.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Sacramento did massive cuts. No more narcotics or gang units. No more traffic unit. Detectives only follow-up on the most serious crimes- murdery, rape, etc. Many minor crimes, like theft that past occurred, they dont even respond to. One bad scenario described: A patrol cop stops a car, finds a bunch of meth, and has info that the driver's home has a meth lab. BUT, due to short manpower and no overtime allowance, there was no one and no time to do the 8-10 hour process of obtaining a search warrant, executing the warrant, and securing the meth lab. SO WHAT HAPPENS? THe dirver is arrested for possession, but the meth lab (maybe your neighbor?) remains untouched.

Private detectives investigate more cases amid police budget cuts - latimes.com
In Camden, NJ, and many places in America, frustrated citizens are having to resort to hiring private investigators to do things that the cops no longer have time or manpower to investigate. Hey, the right wing's dream- replace cops with private security (who have no enforcement power though). Lots of quotes of angry people with the theme "The police wont do anything" or that it takes too long to investigate. What did they THINK would happen? That their leaders could slash the budget, yet, maintain the same manpower, capability, equipment, etc, to do the job?

Expect this trend to grow more and more as cities and states cut from the least-sympathetic of all government roles: The police. Yep. You NEVER hear politicians talking about police. You rarely hear citizens speak of it. Police officers and departments are NOT vote getters or losers. They arent issues you'll lose an election on. Thus, they're a very unsympathetic, easy target for budget cuts.

Just remember that next time you or a loved one or a friend call 911. If the guy is in a bad mood when he gets there, he's likely 5-6 reports deep already, with no allowed overtime and a SGT yelling at him to find a way to make 18 hours worth of work fit into an 8 hour day..............and who knows, theres a chance nobody will show up at all for your call.

But rest assured, the folks in your nearby gated community will not have had to pay one penny more towards the budget that funds the 911 program.

Dude Charlotte hasn't slashed their budget. They're trying to get a tax hike for the stadium

 

[Desperado]

Hopefully your state has a "Stand Your Ground" Law and not a Run, Hide and Pray Law.