I smell a dirty rotten rat. Its a smell we've learned to
live with because we have been told that smell is normal. I think its high time
we decided it is not. The issue involves the stranglehold Harris
County has on the Baytown jail. Something here defies logic and
yes, logic is always a conundrum when it comes to the rules.
Here is the big question: Why doesn't Harris
County pick up the prisoners in the Baytown jail? Why do Baytown police officers make the 2-3 hour round-trip visit
to Houston 2 to
5 times a day to transfer prisoners when they could be working our streets? Why
didn't our "new" jail of 15 or so years qualify as a Harris County
jail annex when most of us thought it would?
How come the 65 million dollar future police department
building doesn't include this resource-robbing issue? Over the years I've asked
this question and it has always been explained that there is nothing BPD can do
to alleviate the problem. I'm patient, but does it seem logical that we continue
this practice to the waste of our police patrols and citizen's tax dollars.
I do not blame BPD. I blame the current system and Harris County
and personally, I do not care how other Harris County
cities handle this constant drain. We are on the far side of the ship channel
and I believe our resources are better managed when we have trained officers on
the beat; not taxiing prisoners up to 5 times a day.
I am a fan of our city and our police department. Since 1974
when I moved here after leaving the Service, I have never had a negative
instance with BPD. I also support our city and wish it to be a great place to
raise a family. Our police training programs are top notch and we train cops
from all over the country. I want it to continue to be professional and leaders
in law enforcement, instead of prisoner Uber drivers.
Maybe this is just the way it is done. Everyone under Harris County
and Sheriff Ed Gonzales do it one way and that's just the way its going to be;
I don't know. Maybe it can't be done another way, but let's get real. We just
tragically lost 2 top cops with many years experience. They cannot and will not
be replaced using "shake and bake" cops, which is something only
little towns do anyway. No, it takes years to get cops like these replaced, so
why are we toting prisoners up to 5 times a day to Houston?
Maybe our police chief and Mayor
need to sit down with the honorable Sylvester Turner and get the skinny on what
Baytown needs
to do with its jail to stop this waste of resources. Maybe the citizens of this
great city need to let their voices be heard. Maybe that 65 million bucks needs
to include some provisions that aren't planned. If our jail is certified as a
Harris County jail annex, we would suddenly have 2 to 5 more cops free to patrol
the streets and stop all this red light running and car stealing. Does all of
this sound unreasonable?
Look. I am not suggesting we all
gather at city hall with masks, signs, and throw smoke bombs. I am suggesting
each and every person contact your councilperson and inquire why we are
continuing this at tax payers expense. It is illogical and should be addressed
by citizen input.
I love this town. I do not ever
plan on leaving. I am asking for your help to set this situation to the
advantage of Baytown
and its LEO's.
.
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