What's the deal with LE?

[11Z50]

I know this will spur some discussions, but after all, this is a discussion forum, no?

First, I wholeheartedly support those brave men and women out there risking great bodily harm to protect the citizenry. Those out there doing their jobs deserve total and complete support of all citizens. I know what it's like out there, because I was an LEO.

The paradox here is that although right now there are more sworn LEO's and non-sworn support staff out there than ever before, response times are longer than ever, and police services have dropped dramatically. We as citizens and taxpayers are paying more for serivces than ever before, and getting less.

No person that calls 911 should be put on hold, or burn up in their own bed while waiting on a response. No citizen that wants their complaint investigated should be told that the Police don't have time.

Considering that in addition to local PD's and Sheriff's Departments, we have the CHP, Campus Police, DOJ Cops, BNE, DFG Wardens, Parole Agents, DA Investigators, State Health Department Investigators, BART Cops, Harbor Police, Airport Police, and many, many more. That's not counting Federal LEO's! There are more people out there carrying a gun and handcuffs than ever before.

The irony here is while I agree the local PD's and Sheriff's Departments are strapped with high call volumes, All these other sworn LE's have little to do. When CHP Officers are out harassing gun owners and Game Wardens are out writing vehicle code citations, something is wrong. There should be no LEO out there that doesn't have enough to do, and has spare time. One fine example is the Iggster, who has enough spare time to hassle FFLs and legal gun owners.

And yes, I do know that a sworn LEO has jurisdiction over the entire state, and may enforce any state or federal statute. I'm not saying that a CHP should not arrest someone for a drug violation or illegal weapon offense, I'm just saying it should be incident to a vehicle code violation, while patrolling the highways. (Highway Patrol, get it?) In other words, everybody needs to stay in their lanes. If all these agencies did, they would not need to continually hire more officers.

Another problem is that when federal money is dumped into local LE, the funds rarely actually put more cops on the street. Most agencies promote sworn officers into non-street jobs, create special units, and buy cool gear.

Some cities, like Fresno, have almost doubled the force but still lag behind due to population growth.

It seems to me that a reorganization is in order. LE needs to take a look at our military, that is doing more with less than ever before.

Before the flaming begins, let's be nice and just chat bout this....

[AngelDecoys]

Well, I would be the first to point out that the other LE groups have their own case lodes to do. I highly doubt they sit around doing nothing.

We have a grossly dysfunctional society. That dysfunction permeates all strata, and as it becomes even more so, LE is spread ever so more thin to do anything.

I've heard 80-90% of police work is in managing this dysfunction. The best LE can do is try and manage what I call 'broken people.'

[hawk1]

[11Z50]

Well, I would be the first to point out that the other LE groups have their own case lodes to do. I highly doubt they sit around doing nothing.

We have a grossly dysfunctional society. That dysfunction permeates all strata, and as it becomes even more so, LE is spread ever so more thin to do anything.

I've heard 80-90% of police work is in managing this dysfunction. The best LE can do is try and manage what I call 'broken people.'

If you think all of these cops are out busting azz, arresting crooks or even dealing with dysfunctionals, you are truly naive, sir.

[hoax]

My problem with LE is all the different agencies.

1. My city has a PD.
2. My county has a PD.
3. My state has a PD.
4. Then there are the multiple Federal LE. (ATF, FBI, etc)

We do not need all these layers of law enforcement.

[AngelDecoys]

If you think all of these cops are out busting azz, arresting crooks or even dealing with dysfunctionals, you are truly naive, sir.

I have yet to see concrete evidence otherwise that what I'm saying is not true.

[metalhead357]

[quote=11Z50;1003319]
It seems to me that a reorganization is in order. LE needs to take a look at our military, that is doing more with less than ever before. [quote]


hmmmmmmm... and what for? So we can have a fascist state? Posse Commitatus I say to you...........

If you mean TRULY to just learn how to do more with less.....then I say look at either the homeless or other beligured groups (like teachers) who do quite a bit for a lot less pay.

But I understand the concern...and share it somewhat...we DO need more <decent> cops.

[Salty]

I was thinkin' the same thing the other day when I heard that my friend got beat up at his job, in a bank, and after calling 3 times and waiting 2 hours the LAPD never showed up.
That's right, someone randomly walked into a bank in LA, beat up one of the loan officers, walked out, and the cops didn't even care!

[Technical Ted]

With someone like this out there, it makes response time difficult:

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8271407?source=rss

Lonely' Hayward man made thousands of 911 calls
By Jason Sweeney
Bay Area News Group
Article Launched: 02/15/2008 0726 AM PST

HAYWARD - When Hayward resident John Triplette felt a little lonely, he would dial 911. The unemployed 45-year-old apparently felt lonely quite a bit, making tens of thousands of calls to 911 over the past year.

With the help of Federal Communications Commission employees, Hayward police arrested Triplette at about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday after they tracked him to an apartment in the 24000 block of Amador Street.


Triplette faces a maximum of one year in jail on a charge of making annoying calls to 911.


Since Jan. 8 of this year, Triplette called the Hayward Communications Center at least 10,000 times, jamming dispatch lines with grunts, bodily noises, beeps from his touch pad or minimal conversation in what sounded to dispatchers like a disguised voice, according to Police Lt. Christine Orrey.


"He was severely impacting our communications center," Orrey said. "He was a lonely man who would call the dispatchers for company, sometimes hundreds of times a day."


Dispatchers would advise Triplette that he was tying up the line, but to no avail, Orrey said.


Also on Jan. 8, the Hayward Communications Center began taking 911 calls from T-Mobile subscribers, which previously were handled by the California Highway Patrol. The Hayward Police Department is gradually increasing its capacity to take 9-1-1 calls from cell phone providers, as part of the "E911" system mandated by the FCC, Orrey explained.


Immediately after making the switch, Hayward started
receiving the strange 911 calls from an unsubscribed T-Mobile number. From Jan. 8 to 14, the communications center received 1,327 calls from the number.

Because the number did not have current subscriber information, it couldn't be tracked to subscriber records, according to Orrey.


"Once we identified that we had a problem, we initiated an investigation," she said. "We learned that the Highway Patrol prior to the transfer had received 17,000 9-1-1 calls from the number since May of 2007."


Investigators also found that Solano County received 4,000 calls from the same number since Jan. 28, she said.


Hayward police subsequently partnered with the FCC, which has specialized equipment that can triangulate where a cell phone call is coming from.


On Wednesday, investigators were able to pinpoint the calls to a specific Hayward address.


"They made contact with the residents of the apartment and located the suspect, who was cooperative and apologetic," Orrey said. "We recovered the phone and arrested him."


"He completely overwhelmed our system," Hayward Communications Center manager Desi Calzada said in a press statement. "He delayed the answering of other 9-1-1 calls because we were answering his."


Triplette was cited and released, with a court date scheduled in March.

[CSACANNONEER]

Or maybe, California could just rename the "Highway Patrol" the "State Troopers" (or anything else you might think of) like other states do? Although, I tend to agree with some of what you say, you have a drastically oversimplified idea of jurasdictions. Also, when you make statements like "Some cities, like Fresno, have almost doubled the force but still lag behind due to population growth", you need more qualifiers. I can prove that all cities in Ca have "doubled", "tripled" etc. their forces as long as I don't have any timeline constraints.

[FEDUPWBS]

The root of the problem is the ACLU and like groups.Also most cops have administrative concerns at the back of their thoughts like getting fired or being constantly investigated for doing their job. Then the other end of the scale would be the LE looking to file some BS discrimination or harassment suit for that "early retirement or promotion"
The fact of the matter is gubment NEVER GETS SMALLER.

[11Z50]

I have yet to see concrete evidence otherwise that what I'm saying is not true.

Just go to a LE HQ and you'll see dozens of sworn LEO's flying a desk. Go to a donut shop, or a Perko's-type diner and watch for a few hours. Ask anybody that's been inside LE and you can get all the proof you want. Better yet the next time you dial 911 (which I hope you don't have to) see what happens.

[AngelDecoys]

Just go to a LE HQ and you'll see dozens of sworn LEO's flying a desk. Go to a donut shop, or a Perko's-type diner and watch for a few hours. Ask anybody that's been inside LE and you can get all the proof you want. Better yet the next time you dial 911 (which I hope you don't have to) see what happens.

Don't get me wrong, I agree there is waste and streamlining that could be done. Considering the sheer amount of paperwork necessary for everything it wouldn't surpise me one bit to see a lot of officers at a desk.

Ironically, Modesto doesn't send officers to investigate house alarms going off. And they want to charge the home owner to go to the house as they say they don't have the manpower, and finances to do so with every call.

Can't say I'm a fan of 911 knowing the response time. Knowing they are not required to show up and that they can't be held liable for not responding says it all to me.

I think many underestimate the sheer amount of dysfunction in society that result in calls on an ongoing basis.

[tgriffin]

IBTL

[FallingDown]

The LE situation (and correctional) is dysfunctional and that's just the raw, brutal truth. But it's a reflection of California, which will be in debt $49 billion dollars as of August, 2008 according to the California Dept. of Finance.
From bankrupt and failing school systems, to 6 of the 10 worst highways in the nation, along with being in the top 10 for domestic out-migration rates, this state is very close to the deep end, if it's not already too late. If the water problems get any worse, this state is gone, period. Any urban planner worth his M.A. will tell you what a city needs to run and too many cities in California have been so mismanaged that it's no wonder California is about to lose it's credit rating and become a lost cause.