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Editor's ViewpointMeditations Of A Minnesota Mossback |
Public safety is a basic community service that—on the local level, at least—is almost always funded by local tax dollars. Taxpayers in each community have an opportunity to choose what level of local law enforcement they are willing to support.
For instance, there is a considerable difference in the amount spent on law enforcement within the cities we cover (see box, below).
Washington County Sheriff ’s deputies under contract in Hugo (population 13,000, 36 sq. miles) spend much of their shift reacting to incoming 911 calls related to medical emergencies, thefts, vandalism, domestic disputes, safety concerns and nuisance reports. The City of Lino Lakes (population 20,000, 33.2 sq. miles), which has its own police force, chooses to dedicate far more resources— i.e. tax dollars—to proactive patrolling.
It all comes down to what a community is willing to pay for.
At least once each year, a statistical report is delivered by the Washington County Sheriff ’s Office (WSCO) to city officials on the previous year’s activities. Recommendations are often made for the following year. The WCSO is scheduled to make its 2009 Law Enforcement Report in Hugo on Monday, May 3 at 7 p.m.Recently, The Citizen has stepped up its coverage of crime in Hugo. This would not be possible without the efforts taken by the WCSO to keep us informed.
The Citizen receives daily reports from the WCSO listing every incident to which Hugo contract deputies and other area squad cars respond during that 24-hour period.
The brief two- or threeword descriptions included in those reports let us know, for instance, whether a grass fire was reported or whether a 911 domestic call came in.
We are not provided with specific addresses, but it gives us a good overview of what is happening within the city’s borders.
This level of detail is not routinely provided by other agencies. Whether the budgets of those agencies do not permit it, or whether it is simply not a priority, we can’t say.
However, we can say that since smaller newspapers don’t have the staff to assign a reporter to wait in the police precinct lobby for breaking news, this effort on the part of the WCSO to keep Hugo taxpayers informed has not gone unnoticed.
Once we receive those reports, we have to choose which incidents to include in the newspaper. It would be virtually impossible to itemize all of the incidents to which Hugo’s contract officers respond during the two-week period between our publication dates.
That being said, we thought it would be enlightening for residents and business owners to see the number of incidents that occurred over a recent 24-hour period in Hugo on Friday, April 26, a typical spring day (dispatch times for incidents are listed below).
Hugo’s deputies do a tremendous job, especially considering the city’s “bare bones” public safety budget.
But we’ve yet to see a deputy who can be in three places at once: what do you do when three calls come in at the same time?
“Hugo’s growing,” Sheriff Bill Hutton told The Citizen last week, “and you cannot continue to police Hugo with five people.”
That’s five people spread over three shifts a day, making an effort to do the job that it takes 27 sworn officers and 4 community service officers to do in Lino Lakes.
Five is also the number of deputies Kanabec County Sheriff Steve Schulz just hired to patrol the tiny town of Mora, Minn. (pop. 3,500, 4.2 sq. miles) following the disbanding of the city’s own police force earlier this year in a budget-cutting measure.
It takes 4.5 full-time deputies to place one deputy on duty at any given time.
We strongly support the funding of additional public safety positions—in law enforcement and on the Hugo Fire Department—in the City of Hugo. Proactive patrolling and fast medical response times aren’t free, and Hugo’s public safety services, though efficient, are currently stretched to the maximum.
As Hugo continues to grow, response times will increase.
Funding public safety comes at a cost. But there is also a human cost when these services are not adequately funded.
