bucs90
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- Feb 25, 2010
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Rahm Emanuel Pushes Police Budget Cuts Despite Campaign Pledge To Add Cops
Rahm Emanuel has directed the new Chicago Police Dept Chief to slash his budget by a full 1/6th! Ummm.....how is that gonna help stop the insane crime? A few points the Chicago PD made:
- They have to train....to you know, be trained and effective. And patrol the streets, but have fewer people to do so. So, Chicago PD had been bringing officers in on their day off for training, and paying them overtime. But now there is no overtime. So- they ask- how to you bring a guy in on his day off, but not pay him? You cant. So you bring him into training on his work day, but then, thats another man not on the streets. SO.....WTF?
- One Chicago PD officer, speaking of overtime, says "You dont just stop a murder investigation, say 'sorry victim's family, my shift's over'." And he is right. Murder detectives, like everyone who watches the First 48 knows, have 48 hours to make an arrest, or the chances of an arrest plummet. BUT, how do you work overtime, and not get paid? You CANT. Even if the cops volunteered their time, labor laws now force them to go home because some disgruntled cops in the past have sued for back pay and won, so they can get in trouble for overtime (BTW, this is a common thing in the private sector. Target and WalMart, for example, will fire an employee for working off the clock). So, what do you tell the parent of a missing child or murder victim? "Sorry ma'am, my shift just ended. I'll be back in 16 hours to start searching again. Until then....here is a Kleenex."
We better either figure out where we are gonna prioritize law enforcement, or, arm ourselves and accept the difficulties that are going to be a reality in our new fiscally stingy times.
Rahm Emanuel has directed the new Chicago Police Dept Chief to slash his budget by a full 1/6th! Ummm.....how is that gonna help stop the insane crime? A few points the Chicago PD made:
- They have to train....to you know, be trained and effective. And patrol the streets, but have fewer people to do so. So, Chicago PD had been bringing officers in on their day off for training, and paying them overtime. But now there is no overtime. So- they ask- how to you bring a guy in on his day off, but not pay him? You cant. So you bring him into training on his work day, but then, thats another man not on the streets. SO.....WTF?
- One Chicago PD officer, speaking of overtime, says "You dont just stop a murder investigation, say 'sorry victim's family, my shift's over'." And he is right. Murder detectives, like everyone who watches the First 48 knows, have 48 hours to make an arrest, or the chances of an arrest plummet. BUT, how do you work overtime, and not get paid? You CANT. Even if the cops volunteered their time, labor laws now force them to go home because some disgruntled cops in the past have sued for back pay and won, so they can get in trouble for overtime (BTW, this is a common thing in the private sector. Target and WalMart, for example, will fire an employee for working off the clock). So, what do you tell the parent of a missing child or murder victim? "Sorry ma'am, my shift just ended. I'll be back in 16 hours to start searching again. Until then....here is a Kleenex."
We better either figure out where we are gonna prioritize law enforcement, or, arm ourselves and accept the difficulties that are going to be a reality in our new fiscally stingy times.
