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County Law Enforcement Can Count on Troubled Future
Published Saturday, October 12, 1996

I’ve seen more good law enforcement officers here than any other place I’ve lived.  They are city police officers, Deputy Sheriffs and Highway Patrol officers, and serve as the front line of a system that includes hard working administrators, jail staff, District Attorney’s staff and judges.
 
Given changing crime patterns and severe budget restraints, law enforcement is under pressure.  It’s a wonder these people can carry out their jobs with any effectiveness.  We’ve been lucky so far, but as population grows, violent crime will increase.  What will understaffed, underpaid agencies do?  The day you dial 911 and get a recording or soothing music, you’ll know we’re in big trouble.
 
How are we doing?  Here’s a good news/bad news report on local law enforcement.
 
Good news.  The Grass Valley Police Department seems to have a high rating from the public and the city council.  The Senior Patrol looks like a success.  Right or wrong, the city seems satisfied with its curfew.  As a dubious bonus, Chief Mel Mouser has a SWAT team.  A SWAT team? Who knows?  It might pay off some day, and Mel can say “I told you so.”
 
Good news.  Louis Travato, Nevada City’s new police chief, seems to have a high level of acceptance.  David Burke remains the PR hero of the department, due primarily to his work with kids.
 
Good news.  The CHP remains reliable, passing out tickets and popping drunks.
 
Bad news.  Silly laws.  When faced with a problem, legislators always take the easy way out.  They pass a law.  Enforcing silly laws will always dilute a police officer’s effectiveness.  Laws against playing in the streets and hanging out in public parks are swell examples.
 
Bad news.  No money.  Without adequate budgets, it’s obvious that three negative conditions will occur: there won’t enough officers; there won’t be adequate pay for existing officers; and there won’t be enough modern equipment.  This is no way to prepare for a tough future.  Also, if you don’t pay cops enough money, you open yourself up to big city corruption: stealing from the evidence room and taking bribes for not busting marijuana fields and methamphetamine labs.
 
We need improvements now.  The innovators must be the police chiefs, the County Sheriff, and the District Attorney.  They need to do more to build public confidence and do less to undermine public support.
 
Public support is vital because it helps an agency get a bigger budget.  In the case of the DA and the Sheriff, it improves the likelihood of re-election.  Also, a motivated public will get involved in crime prevention and crime reporting, since the cops cannot do the job alone.
 
It looked wrong to the public when Sheriff Troy Arbaugh and District Attorney Mike Ferguson failed to arrest and charge off-duty deputy Shawn Joyce for shooting Mike Minick.  Failure to act promptly, silence, Ferguson’s perception that the incident was self-defense, and putting the case in front of the grand jury certainly undermined public confidence.  Arbaugh and Ferguson would look like conspirators or ignoramuses, except the grand jury has vindicated their judgement by failing to indict Joyce.
 
Let’s hope for more astute behavior in the future.  Meanwhile, our law enforcement agencies can build a little more public credibility by doing the following:

1. Get a web page.  The Placer County Sheriff’s Department has a great one.  It shows Placer County residents that Sheriff Bonner has a mission, an organization, and most important, a face.  The City of Roseville has a web page, too.  As usual, Nevada County has nothing this useful.

 

2. Publish crime statistics on the worldwide web.  The City of Benicia and the City of Tustin publish statistics, to name just two.  As usual, Nevada County has nothing this useful.
   

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