Recently, the City council of Harlan voted to make the Halarlan Police department go countywide. This means there will be no more police department, the only form of law enforcement in Harlan will be the Sherrif and his deputies. This is a very controversial issue in Harlan and Shelby county. There are lots of people that think that it should stay the way that it was, let’s explore these reasons.
First, If/when this doesn't work, and the city wants its police department back, who will pay for it? They will need all of the equipment, they will have to increase certain officers' pay for Sergeant, Asst. Chief, and Chief. The Taxpayers will be the ones paying for the reconstruction of the police department. Also, in Salt Lake, they had a "unified law enforcement system. But they are now wanting their old ways back and are switching to a police and sheriff's office separately.
Secondly, there will not be nearly as much coverage in town when the deputies are able to be countywide instead of staying in town. There is no promise that there will be someone near the city all the time. For example, if something big happens in a different town inside of Shelby county, there will be ZERO coverage in Harlan. With a police department, there is coverage all the time.
Third, there will be a loss of jobs in the city. The current police officers are NOT guaranteed a job at the sheriff's department, and two won't get a job anyways. The city will no longer run the police department. This makes you wonder if the high-up people in the city such as the mayor and city administrator need pay cuts because part of their job just got handed over to the county.
Fourth, it is not cost-effective and they are not really unified They will have two fewer people than a fully staffed police and sheriff department would. And it would cost around the same amount to do it if not cost more. Also, how are they "truly unified" if they are still in separate buildings for offices? It is still similar to a police department and sheriff's office because of this reason.
Questions:
Do you think that the police department should be unified with the sheriff's office?
Why or why not?
What do you think could be some pros/cons of this unification process?
Replies
In my opinion they should keep it how it is. some people will lose there jobs and its fine how it is. some people in harlan are not the smartest and will start doing stuff knowing there might not be a cops in town anymore. this could ruin the Harlan.
I personally don't see a problem with it. I don't see how it would effect anybody who lives in town. It's basically the same thing, and I don't see how they aren't already unified. I think it would help a lot more than hurt anything. But I think everything will go as planned if they decide to unify.
I disagree, this would affect people that live in town because they wouldn't be guaranteed to have a cop/deputy in town. They aren't already unified because they have separate chiefs, and they patrol separate areas. Harlan officers aren't allowed to leave town unless they absolutely have to and they also need permission. Deputies can roam the county freely. I think it's going to hurt the town and it most likely won't go as planned.
I do not think that the police department should be combined with the sheriff's. The reason they are doing this is because there are not enough officers in the police department. It makes sense that if they combine, the sheriff's can help control the town. However, if they are eliminating two officers to do this, that is making the shorthanded problem worse.
I don't think that the police and sheriff's office should be unified. It's kind of scary to think about if something big were to happen in Portsmouth that there's no guarantee that anyone would be able to help in Harlan if something were to happen. I understand that we're not the crime capital of the world, but stuff can still happen.
I don't think they should be unified. It is fine the way it is right now and fewer cops around town could lead to kids and adults getting away with a lot more things. I don't see why you should fix something if it's not broken.
I think that people could get away with speeding in town much easier, there will be much less coverage so no one will ever catch you.
I think it is a good thing that the Police department got unified. I don't see an issue with fewer police in town, it is a small town with little to no crime, and if anything happens, the police can just drive to Harlan to help.
I disagree. There is a major issue with there not being any cops in town. If all of the deputies are out of town, and something major happens, they are not only risking their lives to drive FAST to get there, they are risking other drivers' lives as well. Also, Harlan has more crime than you would think...
I think that the police department works fine as it is now. I do see why they want to unify it. It is cheaper and then everything is under one administration. However, the towns wouldn't have as much coverage, and Harlan needs more coverage than the other small towns.
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