The loss of so many police officers in both major cities will probably be joined by similar losses to suburban forces as well. It appears from today's Strip article that this will necessitate a complete rethinking of how and why police forces are deployed in Minneapolis. I suspect similar rethinking is occurring elsewhere.
I suspect that frills like beat patrols, school and community outreach will inevitably be forced to the side. The paper article suggests the cuts will lead to less manpower available for investigations and follow-through on cases. That should help the budget eventually as there will probably be fewer convictions and the prisons will be less overfull. Perhaps it is time to consider whether a significant block of municipal police responsibilities could be reorganized and funded on a metro or possible county basis. Quick and responsible people would need to identify the most appropriate functions for metro wide jurisdiction. I would guess drugs, gangs, and counter terrorism all could benefit from a more unified command assuming it was still tied into street operations of the regular municipal police forces. An alternate function might include serving as kind of a swing force that would monitor and assist as backup and/or lead units on an "as need" basis throughout the entire metro, serving as a resource that all departments could call upon. The function of this unit could range in design from being a sort of reserve force on one end to the other end, where this force would serve in a regional specialist and/or strategic leadership function. If Minneapolis were to loose and unspeakable 150 police officers I will have to make a difference. A resource pool of a regional nature could help offset some of the cut, and begin building a less fragmented approach to the policing function within the region. If Minneapolis has to give up 150 officers, I would hope that the governor would be willing to see his way to support some sort of force to absorb at least a third of that impact via a newly constituted regional police functionality. I am convinced that the more we can get everyone in the region to think about the region and its problems from a global perspective the better off we as a region we will be. Such a proposal could meet the Governor's "Change agent" test. Funding it of course will not be easy, since no one has any money. A regional approach would allow a greater pooling of tax bases which might be helpful. The governor may be willing to permit some creative new revenue streams if it permits a change agent event that allows more rational service across the metro area, to help absorb the practical and political problems of losing so many police officers. All I can say it's a good thing he's giving us all handguns guns so we can defend ourselves. Ducking for cover in the urban forest near Minnehaha Falls and downtown Nokomis Village. Earl Netwal 5344 36th Ave S. Mpls., MN 55417 TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
