Budget Cuts & Public Safety
Frank Borelli
Editor-in-Chief
Officer.com
There are those in the world who have accused me of not being a very “flexible thinker”. I’ve also been accused by being prejudice. I guess, from particular points of view, both are true statements. As a veteran cop I certainly take umbrage when someone tries to hurt law enforcement or takes action to reduce the effectiveness of law enforcement. That’s exactly what’s happening in Prince George’s County, Maryland as I type this.
It’s been reported in the news this morning that PG County is facing a $142M budget deficit. To resolve part of the problem the county is proposing to cut 320 jobs. Of that 320, more than half are coming out of public safety. Okay… that’s where I choked on my coffee. However, before flicking off here in front of my keyboard, I did a bit of research.
For those of you unfamiliar: PG County, Maryland, lies on the eastern side of and adjacent to Washington DC. It is the REAL home of the Washington Redskins (FedEx field is in Landover in PG County). The county is over 300 years old with a Sheriff’s agency that is also over 300 years old and a police department that is almost 80 years old. For the sake of this blog it’s also important to note that the PG Fire Department is over 120 years old.
Just for the record, the county reports having approximately 5,900 employees. 320 represents about 5.5% of them. The county is also talking about mandating 80 hours per employee of unpaid leave this year to help with the budget shortfall.
Now, with all that delineated, what else does the county have?
PG County has 56 departments listed on its website. Fifty-Six! The public safety agencies listed above are THREE of the FIFTY-SIX. Right off the bat I was confused as to why TWO of those THREE are being held responsible for over 50% of the job cuts the county proposes. The cuts proposed would reduce the police department by 122 officers and the fire department by 48. The Sheriff’s office would lose 20 deputies and the Department of Corrections (those folks who keep the bad guys IN jail) would lose 37. Add them up and that’s 227 out of 320, or approximately 71%! It makes no sense to me.
So I did a little math. If all 56 agencies were required to divide the 320 job cuts, then each agency would have to cut 6 people on average. Admittedly, some county agencies are pretty small and the loss of six people might actually mean the end of an agency, so I can see where they might not be able to carry their burden in the job cuts. Still, I’m sure that the leadership is Prince George’s County can find SOMEWHERE to cut jobs that won’t immediately and severely impact public safety.
Perhaps the Cable TV Commission could lose a few jobs? How about the County Charter Review board? Or maybe the Redevelopment Authority or the Revenue Authority? Perhaps Public Works and Transportation could cut a few jobs along the way?
I know this: there are a few places that services should never be cut when a government entity faces budget restraint: Public safety is at the top of that list. There is always somewhere else in a government for dollars to be saved. Perhaps the politicians in Prince George’s County can bring their heads together and figure it out.
Then again, perhaps not…
According to the JAG, Prince George County is slated to receive $3.5 million pegged for:
* Law enforcement programs.
* Prosecution and court programs.
* Prevention and education programs.
* Corrections and community corrections programs.
* Drug treatment and enforcement programs.
* Planning, evaluation, and technology improvement programs.
* Crime victim and witness programs (other than compensation).
Make sure those politicians allocate the cash correctly. No diversions allowed.
As someone who is employed in a law enforcement agency in Prince George’s County, I feel the pain. We are already furloughed 80 hours this year with impending furloughs (so we hear through good sources) of more furloughs in the next fiscal year and talk is of 120-160 hours if the comes to be a reality. The fire department is already in upheaval with a terrific chief who suddenly resigned and was replaced with a new chief who is making immediate and significant changes of staffing levels within the fire department. Many veteran firefighters are quickly retiring and the department is losing a great deal of experience. Police are already overworked and all of us are feeling the impact of changes. We are grateful to have our jobs and we work very hard at what we do for public safety. However, if cuts need to be made, public safety is the last place that needs to be considered in that arena. The public needs to wake up and realize what is happening because when their house is on fire or when they are being victimized by criminals, it is the fire department, the police department, and the prosecutor’s office that will be the immediate responders to aiding with their crises. Let’s keep priorities in place!
Before the PG County Executive decides to start cutting public safety (and for those of you who don’t know, public safety is always the 1st to take the ‘hit’, ) I would kindly remind both the Executive and the County Council that should you be dumb enough to cut public safety that the good old days of the Rafel Edmonds crew are not going to be very far behind. I lived in the Metro DC area for over 30 years. I saw what happened every time PGPD and the Sheriffs Office took a budget hit. Drive-by’s up 40%, ER admissions from dope and gunshot wounds to the point that the southern Md hospital Center and PG General had to close their ER due to overloads. And how can we forget both Hillcrest and District Heights areas as being referred to as ‘a freefire zone’.
We can all thank those ‘community organizers’ who screamed ‘brutality’ every time someone they knew got locked up. But where are these same ‘organizers’ when the dead victim’s next of kin are wondering why the ‘Po-Po’ weren’t there or witness’s (and you know who you are) refused to set-up and do the right thing and make your County a better place by taking these ‘animals’ off the street for everone’s safety ? If PG County public safety getsacut, and the inevitable body count starts going up, the local citizens have only to look in the mirror to see who is to blame. Failure to take responsibility for your community is plain cowardice. And, as is taught in the Maryland School System state-wide, character is suppossed to count. Take a good long look in the mirror and see what your character is adding up to.
Mike & Karen: Well said.
Sounds like the Union has to get involved with these talks and make sure that the County Exec knows the consequences. In Harford County, our union is talking about a media blitz to let the public know how their safety will be impacted by the cuts. It’s a last resort but if the public is on your side, you have a better chance of winning the fight. And if the County Exec still doesn’t budge, tell him to call someone from the Cable TV Commission the next time someone is breaking into his house at 2am!!
Having been law enforcement for 15 years in Washington State, I’ve seen all the cop bashing I can handle. City Officials love to expand revenue producing parking enforcement, but cut cops and policing resources. Always demanding more, and offering less. Honestly, I was feeling like this was a Northwest, certainly a West Coast thing, so honestly….it’s disheartening to see the Nationwide trend.
More needle exchanges and less cops..how much sense does that make??
Well said. We can only hope that there are changes at the head of the PG County government. This is the same County Executive who took a trip (paid for by the county) to Africa just a few months ago. This along with rumors that his offices are currently being upgraded. Sad times for the folks of PG County, hopefully they wake up.
Well stated Frank. Never take away from public safety ever, anywhere. We’re strapped enough as it is! With first hand knowledge of Prince George County, especially not here!
we are having a real problem getting our city manager to appropriate funds for vehicle safety equipment. It seems she only cares about saving money - regardless of whether the police cars are safe or not. I can find statistics for officers killed in car crashes, but I can not find statistics for officers injured in car crashes. Does anyone know where I can find this data. Thanks