KCTV5 offers a collection of thoughts from former Kansas City law enforcement officials:
Former Kansas City police chiefs look back on years of achievement and conflict
Beyond the presser . . . This is really a conversation about KCPD LOCAL CONTROL that will be used to manufacture consent where there is none so far.
Put KCPD under local control, they are out of control and can't solve crime. KCPD is useless.
ReplyDeleteBecause the city fixes everything said no one EVER!!
DeleteI attended the event. Not a bad turn-out. Each Chief was asked about local control and each said to keep things as they are. The reasons stated were:
ReplyDeleteKCPD is already under a form of local control. All the members of the board are KC residents. The city is involved in the budgeting, capital improvements, insurance, etc to a huge degree.
What is not present is political control, you know where the politicians determine who gets hired, fired, promoted, transfered, assigned, etc.
Not one board member has ever been indicted for corruption. Cannot make the same statement about city council members over the past 10-15 years.
If city council members get involved, each will want parity for their districts...you know to get votes. So that means those representing the northland will want more than 8 cops working a shift. With only so many to go around, that means pulling from higher crime areas to even the numbers out. The current system allows the command staff to deploy as they think best...where the crime occurs, not where some council person wants.
Each Chief made the comment that whenever they met with other large city police chiefs they always heard how those other chiefs wished for the KCPD system, never one that sang the praises of local control.
Finally Chief Easly said it best...If it isn't broke, don't fix it.
In my personal opinion, I have yet to hear how local control would:
A) save money
B) result in lower crime rates OR
C) improve police services
My guess is that local control really does mean a city council that can get hands-on with day to day operations of the KCPD, and that scares the bejesus out of me.
I liked how the article described each chief and their lists of achievements. Then you get to Forte', "First African American, 28 years on the department." Pretty much says it all. How glaringly accurate. The saying, "you can't polish a turd" has never been more true.
ReplyDeleteIf you had local control it would be run by racists like 7:36. You people have proven that you can't govern yourselves.
ReplyDeleteKCPD is one lousy police department
ReplyDelete