Published: September 25, 2007 06:20 pm            

CRIME & SAFETY - Republican

City must keep residents safe in efficient way

Crime and safety are issues that are and should be important to everyone in our community. Law-abiding citizens who live in Kokomo deserve to live in an environment in which they feel safe. As mayor, I will do all I can to make sure that the city fulfills its obligation to keep our citizens safe.

In some areas of safety, we have made great strides over the last few decades. Because of fire safety education and the improvement of fire and electrical codes, we have far fewer fires than we used to have. Our fire department is made up of professional firefighters who are trained in a whole host of areas, from firefighting to dealing with hazardous spills.

When it comes to crime, we have a much more difficult task. Our police department is full of dedicated professionals. Unfortunately, in our society, we have too many of our fellow citizens who break the law. Whether it is the attack that took place in our city park or all of the crime that comes about because of the scourge of drugs, we do not feel as safe in our community as we would like. It is critical that we never let down our guard when it comes to fighting crime and fighting against illegal drugs.

The good news is that there are some things we can do to make our citizens feel safer. First, it is a must that the public at large trust and have confidence in our police department. While the officers I know are professional and dedicated individuals, we must make sure that we do not allow any individual officer to bring down the reputation of the whole police department. Also, the police department like the fire department is a paramilitary organization. We need to make sure that it is run as such. We need to make sure that officers are promoted in an orderly fashion based on their current rank, education, training and skill. In a Hamilton administration, politics will play no part in advancement in any department! It is also important to have a police chief and a fire chief in whom I have confidence and in whom the departments themselves have confidence. These individuals need to be able to lead their organizations and treat their fellow officers and firefighters in a professional and evenhanded manner. As mayor, I will not micro-manage any of my department heads, including my police and fire chiefs. They will be in charge of the day-to-day operations of their departments. Having said this, it is also important to realize we are in a tax crisis. While safety will never be sacrificed, it is an absolute necessity that we run all departments in the most efficient manner possible. We will streamline administration so that we can maximize the number of people in the field. I agree with Chief McKay’s comments when he said we are going to have three captains retire next year, and he doesn’t intend to promote anyone to fill their positions.

We also need to partner with other groups to give training and information to the public. For example, as president of the Chamber, I partnered with the police to put on a seminar for businesses, so they would know what to look for when someone was buying materials to make meth. Shortly after this, one of the businesses at the seminar notified the police that someone had bought some materials to make meth. The police were then able to apprehend these individuals.

We also need to make sure that we do not take any steps backward. Removing the liaison officers from the schools was an unfortunate step backward. Having liaison officers in the schools is a win-win situation. First, Kokomo Center Schools was paying the city around $257,000 per year for this program. This is a quarter of a million dollars that will no longer be coming to the city. More importantly, I will never risk the safety of our children. We all have been reminded again and again by events around the country of the importance of providing safety to our kids in our schools. Not only do the liaison officers provide visible protection for our children, but they also have other responsibilities, including identifying threats, gathering criminal intelligence information, enforcing laws such as truancy and child neglect, and establishing relationships with the students. I want you to know that as mayor, I will work with Kokomo Center Schools to reinstate this long established program, and we will do all we can to protect our kids.

I am confident that with the right leadership, we can have a safe community, one where Kokomo is a prosperous city to work and a wonderful place to raise our families.

Rick Hamilton is the Republican Party’s nominee for mayor of Kokomo.

        

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