Although crime has been steadily going down across the State of Florida other than murders, the Sheriff's Department had a PR piece in today's Post claiming that under their protection, crime is down in Lake Worth. The suggestion was why then would Lake Worth even bother to look into another public safety option that was affordable? The fact of the matter is, crime is down in every city in our State.
The PBSO has a magnificent public relations department and knows exactly when to get out a PR piece. Sheriff Ric Bradshaw will not negotiate the cost increase on the Lake Worth Contract and says, "The only reason they've (Lake Worth) gotten a large reduction in crime is because of the number of deputies on the street."
We have to ask why a Commissioner would vote against a Study in order for the Commission to make an opinion on our public safety options. Do we not have a pending shortfall of $4.6 million? This has been a political and an emotional decision from the get go and every single commissioner should be open to ways of reducing costs particularly those for which we have no control and will continue to go up--sheriff protection. Just because the public is "in love" with the Sheriff, does not mean that we need the Cadillac of services.
Crime rate down in the state of Florida for 2010
Officials say crime is down
Overall Crime data 2010
FDLE, Crime in Florida stats
Public safety should be the # 1 service the city should be providing. Not everyone is willing to accept a city overun with crime which is the way the city was before. There's nothing political about that. We hardly have the cadillac of service like you claim. It's basic poice service, just better then we had.
ReplyDeleteYou mean to say that the PBSO service is only BASIC? Don't tell them you said that. Then we are paying way too much for sure.
ReplyDeleteThe police still are mediocre, I do not see them doing enough. We still see a lot of:
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-drug dealers hanging out soliciting
-illegals all over our city (where is the border patrol here?)
-cars turning right on red although there is a sign at Lucerne with Dixie
-people not stopping at stop signs
-public intoxication and loitering
-public littering
-bikes on sidewalks even though there are a lot of signs against it
These things are still very apparent on a daily basis, the police could still do a lot better.
The police we have are mediocre at best as is our city leaders. More still needs to be done. Can Capt. Silva address better the above problems?
Our contract with PBSO stinks. We have the same officers as before, just under better management now.The 50,000 dollar study is a ridiculous farce. If we can afford PBSO-keep them. If we can't afford them-get rid of them.My bottom line is my family. I can't afford any higher taxes than I'm paying now.I pay county taxes on top of city taxes.Even if Lake Worth gets rid of the contract, PBSO still has to come when called. And NO, THEY BY LAW can't not show up ,or take longer that what the standard call time is for whatever kind of call it is. Our gang problem would have been taken care of even if we didn't have PBSO.There was a gang task force that coordinated the entire region, not just Lake Worth.So PBSO, I love you, but just like that private jet that I want,I can't afford you.
ReplyDeleteCpt Silva stated in the paper that we only have 52 men on the streets. No wonder I never see a sheriff's vehicle anywhere except at the Cultural Plaza on Friday nights. These guys are not stopping crime. All we are is one big revenue source for the Sheriff's dept. Do they pay for the gas in their cars?
ReplyDeleteAll of you have missed matched facts over fiction. I would love to see the contract reduced and as far as the number of deputies on the streets regardless, your missing the point of the ADDITIONAL resources that are brought in from outside that takes down the drugs, gangs and violent crimes and then go back to the other area's in the county when they have finished an assignment here. Almost everyone is blind to the the full details and with that being said I would hope and push PBSO to do a public demonstration for Lake Worth that would show what we get for our $$$$
ReplyDeleteCan they cut? YES The question will be "will they" and further more can we do it alone? NO and we wasted more funds to do another study on another repeat study as we always do over and over and over again...we waste more cash on redoing everything we did before because we CAN NOT MAKE A DECISION AND STICK WITH IT! Why? We have elections every 12 months which keeps trading sides with no progress only reversing everything that one or the other does. We need a WHOLE NEW Slate for our leaders and frankly a new CM
We've always had the use of these "additional resources." We pay for them on our tax bill in PB County taxes. Politicians have an uncanny way of getting us into BAD contracts that cost us millions and look at where we are today--We should NEVER stick with a bad contract if we can get out of it. Actually, we should never get into one to begin with but tell that to your elected officials who take campaign contributions from these people and who have greater ambitions. Look to see who among our officials will want to stay with PBSO even though we CANNOT afford them and they know it. I think everyone knows who that is.
ReplyDeleteLynn, if you had a son or daughter who was a public safety officer would you rather they serve and protect a small underfunded independent police dept. or a well trained and supported agency like the PBSO? Having a 22 year old son I know what my choice would be. There's several things that businesses and families have a hard time affording today but if it's important to them they figure out how to make ends meet.
ReplyDeleteIs there still crime in LW? Sure, but ask the officers and property owners what they want. Most property owners here say that the PBSO is the best thing that our city has done in decades. Ask them. Gas is near $4 a gallon, and will most likely go even higher. Times are tough for many of us but it cost money to really keep us safe. Public safety is the most important service a city should provide. We have a transit population that has no investment in the city. The need for supported law enforcement is critical for the residents and the officers who keep us safe. It's a three legged stool. We will all fall without all three legs. Go to the LW Chamber of Commerce lunchon next month and ask Congressman West what it cost to keep our cities, state and country safe.
A lot of bad guys out here even in spite of the Sheriff--
ReplyDeleteI would love to have a condo on the ocean. I can't afford one. I would love to have a new car but I can't afford one. I am not one of these people who goes out and buys anything that I can't afford to pay for. This mentality is what got our country into the shape it is in. You don't go paying 50% of your budget on public safety unless, of course, you want to eventually belly up. Union pay and benefits continue to bleed us and every city across the country, dry.
Allen West is a conservative as am I. He wants to reduce costs and pay for things that make sense. He does not believe in voting in bills that will put us more in debt. He believes in cutting the waste and the fat. He questioned what we were doing bombing Libya as an example, that cost us over $550,000 million in 11 days.
You buy things you can afford and make them work. Times are tough, as you say, and I agree. That is why we NEVER should have gone with PBSO, the same men we still have now. We should have changed the management and the ways in which we do business. PBSO does have resources but we could use them all before we contracted with them, a costly affair and one that will never get cheaper and one in which we have NO control.
No one can even prove to me that they are the reason there is less crime or even if there is less crime. Gangs were prosecuted under RICO (Feds) and have been mitigated to some small degree here. They are doing their job but so could our own police department. IT'S THE SAME MEN, for gosh sakes. The same men would perform the same way under good management. Cpt. Silva admitted that again just one month ago.
If I had a son or daughter that was strapping on a gun to go to work every day, I would assume that they were capable enough to choose were to go to work!Scott Maxwell is saying the same thing as Cara Jennings and Joanne Golden said before we signed the current contract to go with the county- we should have reviewed the contract better to make sure that Lake Worth could AFFORD IT !!I respect the job that our police officers are doing, but Ric Bradshaw better start respecting all of the families in Palm Beach county that just cannot afford to pay any more taxes than we are paying now!ENOUGH!
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