Speaking Out: Too many law enforcement officers is better than not enough
This past weekend, Columbia experienced an unprecedented number of incidents that most people would consider threatening and significant. They included gunfire, robbery and assault. Several included drugs, but the most disturbing thing was the discussion in the media regarding “invaders.”
“Invaders” are criminals from St. Louis and Kansas City who are in a position to fill the void in Columbia of general criminal activity. They come here with their crack, they come here with their guns and they come here with their city ways for profit and entertainment.
Additional pressure is on the Columbia Police Department (CPD) and the Boone County Sheriff’s Department (BCSD) as a direct result of the fact that our area is just getting bigger. Proportionately, our police forces are not growing at the same rate as our city and county. More people living close together mean more problems. Increasingly, we hear reports of our protection system being spread thin.
This is not a knock on CPD or BCSD. This is not a knock on Chief Randy Boehm or Boone County Sheriff Dwayne Carey. It is a knock on us.
There are two ways that public policy is influenced. The first is when leaders, such as those on the Columbia City Council, are focused on primary duties and issues, recognize inadequacies and take dramatic steps to move forward. The second is when residents make demands on those leaders to change direction in public policy in order to support primary issues and the obvious.
Without being panicky or raising false alarms, it has become obvious that the risks, the demands, and the problems relating to “invaders,” population growth and geographic area demand an increased legal protection system to fight crime. This is not saying anyone is doing a bad job, but it is saying we are on the precipice of overtaxing our police protection.
It is the primary mission of city government to keep us safe. When ranking the most important elements of city government, I would put police and fire first in almost all circumstances.
When we talk about quality of life, the operative word is “life.” It’s not parks, it’s not recreation, it’s not bike paths, it’s not green roofs, it’s not pedestrian overpasses and it’s not pretty signs or overhangs on 9th Street. It is protection of life and property.
I would gladly pay for extra police officers and sheriff’s deputies. I would rather have too many than too few. I would rather have more patrol cars than fewer. I would rather have too much zeal than too little. I would rather have to curtail than expand.
Before we discuss a police review board, we should have the luxury of too many cops.
It is naive and negligent for us to be staffed at bare minimums for our police protection. I appreciate the efficiencies that CPD and BCSD have created to maximize what we have given them. It is obvious that it is time to expand these forces to address the greater population, the larger geographic jurisdictions, and the expansion of threats—and to fend off invaders.
A course correction on our current priorities is needed in order to provide us greater protection before it becomes more necessary.