The Alberton Papers # 17
By Dick Darne 5-1-06
Lets discuss law enforcement, our local constabulary, as procured from our county sheriff’s department, particularly "community based law enforcement" (or lack of). It seems like way back 25 years or so ago, we had agreed to pay a little more to have a deputy live here. For a while we even had the Sheriff living here. He would have coffee in the café, attend school functions, stop and talk to people, keep up on the latest happenings, (some would refer to this as gossip, I prefer to think of it as "discussion of current events"), check on the bars in person (even picking and singing a tune or two, our resident sheriff of that time was also known as "the singing sheriff". To my knowledge there was no speed traps or junk gestapo. If anything was stolen, the victim usually got his stuff back quickly. The sheriff and his preceding and succeeding deputies were part of the community and so most crime was prevented or at least solved easily.
Somewhere along the line things began to change. New deputies were rotated through never really becoming part of the community, mostly putting in time and learning enough, along with sufficient on the job experience, to move on to a better paying county. Alberton’s payment for it’s "community based law enforcement" became a necessary part of the county budget and a substantial increase was asked for each year to help fund an inadequately funded sheriff’s dept.. We are reminded each month of the considerable amount of "non-community based law enforcement" hours we are receiving including the highly visible "church time jaunt" where the deputy-mobile blasts up and down each of Alberton’s boulevards on Sunday morning. Saturday too. Some week days too. Real high crime time. Must be working, I haven’t heard of any armed robberies of the collection plates.
What’s the real point here? As county residents aren’t we entitled to every bit as much law enforcement as any other resident? Perhaps all of us as county residents should support proper funding of the sheriff’s dept.. An underfunded dept. is unable to properly focus on prevention through community based law enforcement, but instead is tempted to focus on the ill conceived "war on drugs" in hopes of obtaining funds thru seizures.
The preceding is my opinion, but I don’t think I’m alone. Maybe the sheriff should stop in for a cup. Or sing a song. Or discuss current events. Or visit sometime besides contract time.
Dick Darne
722-4575 aldermandarne@hotmail.com On-line = http://albpap@blogspot.com/
back issues available don’t forget they make a nice gift!!