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Health & Fitness

A Safe City...Perception or Reality???

A Safe City…Perception or Reality?

Mayor Debbie Franklin said in a recent KESQ TV News interview that she believes her city is safe.  She goes on to say, “even if we wanted to hire more officers, the additional officers won’t fit the budget.”  Really!  Even if we had the money, we wouldn’t want more officers on the street?

In 2007 Banning PD had 44 sworn officers, today there are 24.  That is .08 officers for every 1,000 in population.  The generally accepted standards are 1.2 officers per 1,000 in population.  In “short” we should have at least 36 and are woefully deficient in sworn personnel.  Clearly, the Banning Police Department has been decimated:

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1.Banning no longer has a Traffic Division, and two $30,000 motorcycle units sit idle collecting dust in the Police Department garage. 
2.Banning no longer has a Narcotics Division and known drug dealers continue to conduct business because there is not enough time to answer calls and investigate crime at the same time. 
3.Banning no longer has a K-9 Unit, which on any given day, depending on circumstances could save the life of a citizen, a cop or a suspect. 
4.Banning’s Detective Unit is overwhelmed as a result of a shortage of manpower.
5.Banning’s Emergency Tactical Unit is “suspended” until further notice. 

You get the point.  We have gone from being a very well rounded department to a skeleton in just 5 short years.

News Flash!  Governing is prioritizing and “Public Safety” should be a top priority.  Why wasn’t enough money allocated to “Public Safety” to make sure we had at least the minimum number of sworn personnel to protect a city of 30,000 residents?  At first glance, over the last few years it appears that the Police Department took a huge hit in the interest of a balanced budget.   You can only go so far trying to save your way into prosperity.  At some point the effectiveness of your “Public Safety” program is compromised. 

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I recently went on one of 3 or 4 ride-a-long’s with an officer on patrol, that I have participated in over the years here in Banning.  I witnessed at any given time between the hours of 4:00 P.M. and midnight, 4-7 calls pending on the officer’s “in unit” computer screen.  Calls ranging anywhere from an unattended death, which required over 3 hours of the officers time waiting for the coroner to arrive and finish their business, to a suicide attempt at a youth group home.  In addition there were calls of suspicious individuals on personal property, a possible attempted rape, as well as various other calls throughout the evening.  Officers were crisscrossing the city attempting to keep up with the volume of calls while trying to maintain good safety standards for themselves.  Not an easy task.

In my opinion, it should be mandatory that anyone charged with the responsibility of making possible life saving budget decisions that will most definitely impact “Public Safety” in Banning, should be required to occupy the passenger seat of a Black & White Patrol Unit for a Shift.  This includes City Council Members, City Managers and Finance Directors.

The City of Banning is in a crisis that puts it one incident away from a disaster.

What can the public do?  Become part of the process.  Budget deliberations will soon commence.  This is the time to be heard.  Ask questions, make suggestions, have conversations with your elected officials and most of all attend public meetings if possible.

Your opinion matters!  SOLUTION’S BASED COMMENTS & SUGGESTIONS ARE WELCOMED…

Jim Smith
Email: jim@jimsmith4banning.net
Facebook: James C Smith

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