Investing in police
Tuesday, August 26, 2008 11:37 AM PDT
Two deadly incidents in two days. That is the gruesome tally from an unusual weekend in Ontario, and the slayings may say a whole lot about the new paradigm this city and county faces with crime than many want to admit.
The fact the area faced a gang problem is no secret to the police officers charged with serving and protecting our community.
There is some comfort in the facts of the past — that criminal syndicates come and go and crime climbs and recedes — but the fact a virtual firefight erupted Saturday morning in an Ontario apartment complex that was gang-related illustrates the good old days of less-violent crime are gone forever.
It may be difficult for many to get past the statistics — two people dead, two murder cases, one of them linked directly to gangs — but if one peers through the fog on the Saturday case another point becomes abundantly clear.
That point is simple: The Ontario Police Department needs more personnel.
While the leaders of this city contemplate fiscal issues and services that should be kept and those that should be cut, they should review what services are essential, and a strong, vibrant police force should be at the top of the list.
It is a shame, really, such tragic events as these two weekend cases highlight what has been, and is, a real problem in terms of personnel with the local police department.
The fact the police department needs more people and, really, a better facility, has been a known fact for years.
The problem has always been one of priorities, one of choosing which service stays, which one goes.
It is a difficult situation, one, perhaps, beyond the capacity of our locally- elected leaders.
But we don’t think so. We believe the men and women who make up Ontario’s elected leadership are more than capable of making tough decisions and sticking with them.
The local gang problem is not going to go away. It is that simple. If it were, the issue would have faded into the background years ago. It hasn’t.
The police and fire departments need to be at the top of any priority list for city expenditures.
To some, it may seem like a baseless idea to spend more on police. For those who believe so, they are simply not viewing the current situation through a prism of reality.
City leaders have some tough choices to make, but one choice should be simple: Find more money to get more police officers on the streets as soon as possible.
