2008 Woodie Awards
Spending for safety
The Editorial Staff
Issue date: 4/9/08 Section: Opinion
"Patience and submission are very carefully to be distinguished
from cowardice and indolence." ~ Samuel Johnson
The College Park City Council's budget deliberations have developed a value for law enforcement in the city. The council has decided to spend twice as much on public safety this year than it has in previous years. The most significant aspect of this spending increase is an expected contract by which several police officers employed by the county would be hired to work full time in the College Park jurisdiction, as the city has no police force of its own.
While the addition of a few full-time officers will likely not affect the overall crime statistics and trends immediately, the decision represents an acknowledgment of the importance of law enforcement having a relationship with the community. As it stands, the city is only a tiny part of the jurisdiction of Prince George's County Police, and the range of University Police is limited to the campus and the adjacent portion of downtown College Park. The quick response afforded by full-time officers in the city will probably give residents a greater feeling of security.
Crime in the city has been and remains an eternal complaint of students who live in it. This brings up the question of why there has been so much hesitation to adopt some sort of permanent police presence here.
Earlier this year, the city lobbied the state government for more funding to improve the police presence. University Police have recognized the same need to bolster the police coverage for areas only in the county's jurisdiction.
It is likely many have appreciated the need for programs such as employing full-time officers in College Park for a long time. As with any problem in politics, there is a long journey between perceiving a need and filling it. The current budget includes a significant property tax increase of 2.3 percent in order to pay for the increase. Even if the need for full-time officers in the city was acute 10 years ago, it would have taken a much larger one-time tax increase to accomplish it. In reality, taxes have increased gradually up to this point. And now, it seems, the citizens of College Park are behind this move.
According to Mayor Steven Brayman, residents responded with a "resounding 'Yes'" when asked by the city if they would be willing to pay higher taxes for more officers.
Whether the hiring of full-time officers will someday lead to a full police department in College Park is uncertain. It will probably take a long time for the effects of the current policy to become clear. It will also almost certainly be a gradual process in which financial and political resources accumulate behind it. Patience and deliberate action sometimes do pay off in the world of local government.
Policy: The signed letters, columns and cartoon represent only the opinions of the authors. The staff editorial represents the opinion of The Diamondback's editorial board and is the responsibility of the editor in chief.
from cowardice and indolence." ~ Samuel Johnson
The College Park City Council's budget deliberations have developed a value for law enforcement in the city. The council has decided to spend twice as much on public safety this year than it has in previous years. The most significant aspect of this spending increase is an expected contract by which several police officers employed by the county would be hired to work full time in the College Park jurisdiction, as the city has no police force of its own.
While the addition of a few full-time officers will likely not affect the overall crime statistics and trends immediately, the decision represents an acknowledgment of the importance of law enforcement having a relationship with the community. As it stands, the city is only a tiny part of the jurisdiction of Prince George's County Police, and the range of University Police is limited to the campus and the adjacent portion of downtown College Park. The quick response afforded by full-time officers in the city will probably give residents a greater feeling of security.
Crime in the city has been and remains an eternal complaint of students who live in it. This brings up the question of why there has been so much hesitation to adopt some sort of permanent police presence here.
Earlier this year, the city lobbied the state government for more funding to improve the police presence. University Police have recognized the same need to bolster the police coverage for areas only in the county's jurisdiction.
It is likely many have appreciated the need for programs such as employing full-time officers in College Park for a long time. As with any problem in politics, there is a long journey between perceiving a need and filling it. The current budget includes a significant property tax increase of 2.3 percent in order to pay for the increase. Even if the need for full-time officers in the city was acute 10 years ago, it would have taken a much larger one-time tax increase to accomplish it. In reality, taxes have increased gradually up to this point. And now, it seems, the citizens of College Park are behind this move.
According to Mayor Steven Brayman, residents responded with a "resounding 'Yes'" when asked by the city if they would be willing to pay higher taxes for more officers.
Whether the hiring of full-time officers will someday lead to a full police department in College Park is uncertain. It will probably take a long time for the effects of the current policy to become clear. It will also almost certainly be a gradual process in which financial and political resources accumulate behind it. Patience and deliberate action sometimes do pay off in the world of local government.
Policy: The signed letters, columns and cartoon represent only the opinions of the authors. The staff editorial represents the opinion of The Diamondback's editorial board and is the responsibility of the editor in chief.
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