Guarino

The GPD Firings (or recommended-to-be Firings)

We learn this evening that two GPD TSET officers are being fired over the sexual assault matter; or at least, that they are being "recommended to be fired", with various appeal mechanisms available to them.  It appears the announcement might have been timed for Friday afternoon to minimize public attention.

I do not know whether the Buracker report had anything to do with the city arriving at this decision.  I suppose it may have provided them with some cover to bring the thing to a conclusion after seven dreadfully long months.  The News and Record, the Rhino and the blogs deserve credit for placing this issue at the forefront, and assuring it would not be forgotten.

The process is not over.  There is still ample opportunity for various individuals to monkey with the outcome.

Much more is needed to restore the department and the city to a position of widely held respect and regard. Too much has been amiss;  and too many wrongs need to be corrected.  Even the handling of this case leads one to cry out for a cogent explanation.   

But today's news represents a good start-- a baby step in the right direction.

Cops in Black and White, Part LVII

Jerry Bledsoe continues his series in the Rhino Times today with an examination of charges of disparate treatment against David Wray and his men.  The following is a summary.

The city legal report was written by Blair Carr and ToNola Brown-Bland.  Bledsoe said they were "building a civil liability case against the city on behalf of black officers.  It would seem difficult to believe that experienced attorneys would be unaware that they were making an expensive settlement inevitable.  Considering the flimsiness of the case presented by the assistant city attorneys, the question arises as to whether such a settlement was the purpose of City Manager Mitchell Johnson and City Attorney Linda Miles, who assigned Carr and Brown-Bland to the investigation and oversaw it."

Carr and Brown-Bland raised the case of a white female officer who was discovered speaking with a woman who was a drug dealer in a bar.  The white female officer reportedly had no knowledge the woman was a drug dealer, and no other involvement.  The officer was observed over a period of time, and Internal Affairs found no evidence of wrongdoing.  She was told to stay away from the woman.

This instance was compared to the cases of James Hinson, Brian James and Julius Fulmore.  A detailed review of the controversies surrounding these three men followed.

In the case of Hinson, there were two separate criminal investigations because of discrete lines of evidence that he might have some association with a drug kingpin, other drug dealers and prostitutes; because he was suspected of working off-duty when on duty; and because of questions surrounding his advocating for a certain woman to be admitted into a halfway house.  Some of the evidence had been brought to the department by federal authorities.

Clearly, the comparison with the case of the white female comparison was invalid.  Moreover, Carr and Brown-Bland made certain errors, omissions and assertions that made the comparison even more preposterous. 

Brian James was seen to be associating with Nicole Pettiford.  Pettiford had been acting as an informant against a drug kingpin who had told federal authorities he was purchasing access to confidential police information.  She had previously bought and sold police information.  She knew James; and he was one of the first officers Pettiford affirmatively decided to contact.  They met in a vehicle in the parking lot of a retail establishment.   There were ultimately no charges against James.  Again, this is not the same as speaking with a person unknowingly in a bar.  James, who later headed Criminal Investigations, oversaw the seizure of evidence on this matter during January 2006.

Julius Fulmore had rented a hotel room adjacent to that of a prostitute where drug paraphernalia and a used condom were found.  The prostitute made certain allegations about him.  He later was polygraphed, and this showed deception.  Fulmore was investigated, but not charged.  He also had later involvement with an informant- a prostitute involved with drugs-- and the informant produced no assistance with criminal cases.  But she made certain allegations against Fulmore.  Clearly, this is not comparable to the case of the white female officer.  Brown-Bland and Carr made additional errors with this comparison.

But these two assistant city attorneys made another charge of disparate treatment in the case of  a white officer compared with those involving James Hinson, Larry Patterson and Norman Rankin, all three of whom are black. 

The white officer's brother had been caught selling drugs out of the officer's home in Graham on one occasion when the officer was not present.    Again, certain errors were made in the city legal report. 

This matter was brought to the attention of the department by an SBI agent who was adamant that the GPD officer had no involvement in his brother's activities. It was discussed at length, but there was no evidence against the white officer, and it was determined there was no need for an investigation.

Patterson's sister was married to Elton Turnbull, the drug kingpin.  Patterson had been seen entering and leaving Turnbull's house on several occasions by officers surveilling the property.   Robert White (who is black) was the chief at the time, and ordered the investigation.  Patterson was found not to have any criminal involvement.  An internal investigation was appropriate.

Rankin had a very indirect family relationship to Bridgett Ekwensi, who worked with Turnbull on some illegal activiites.  He was never investigated by Special Intelligence or Internal Affairs.  There was no difference between the way he was treated and the way the white officer was treated. 

The report once again made certain errors regarding the investigations of Hinson.  He was initially investigated at the prompting of Chief White, who again is black.  As noted above, there was evidence against Hinson that could not be dismissed.  The comparison with the case of the white officer was poor.

Obama's Two Policies on School Choice

There has recently been a school choice program implemented in Washington, D.C  It was designed to provide alternatives for impoverished children trapped in failing public schools.  The Democratic majority in Congress, however-- including Eleanor Holmes Norton, the D.C. representative-- wants to eliminate this program.

Barack Obama has two different policies regarding school choice. 

The first policy affects the poor.  He opposes programs that would give them alternatives other than the typical public school offerings.  He would keep them trapped in bad schools-- just as the Democratic majority would do in the case of Washington, D.C. schoolchildren.

But Obama has a different policy for his own children.  He sends them to a special "Lab School" at the University of Chicago, which is a private institution.  He refrains from sending them to the usual public schools on the south side of Chicago.

Why does he do this?  He explains, according to Gerald Bradley, that the Lab School is only five minutes from their home, thereby seeming to strike a blow in favor of neighborhood schools.

In any event, Obama's children are fortunate their parents have money.  They don't have to attend Chicago public schools-- as many children do whose parents are not as wealthy. 

Perhaps John Edwards would refer to it as presumptive proof of the existence of "two Americas".

All-Stars and Hall-of-Famers

I got to see the Hall of Famers' Parade in NYC on TV last night, as well as the pre-game ceremonies and the first couple of innings of the All-Star game.

It was a great night.  Seeing an assemblage of so many baseball stars of yesteryear was awe-inspiring. 

The parade coverage on Fox was a bit unfortunate, because much time was spent interviewing current All-Stars instead of focusing mostly on all the Hall of Famers in the parade. 

But the ceremonies at Yankee Stadium were neat.  So many of the great stars from the time of my youth were present.  With the visible effects of aging on their physical appearance, I would not have recognized some of them. 

Some wore their years better than others.  But it appeared they were all enjoying themselves.

It was a surprise to see Bob Feller, who truly is one of the last remaining from at least several generations back.  And it was somewhat of a jolt to see Willie McCovey in a wheelchair-- a man whose swing was absolutely fearsome in his day.

The Yankee Stadium crowd's affectionate response to Yogi Berra was also a big highlight for me.  Yogi managed the Mets when I was young, and Willie Mays joined the team in the twilight of his career, when he was in his early 40's.  But seeing Mays and Hank Aaron on the field last night was also pretty special.

Addendum: Local blogger Sue Polinsky was in New York this past weekend, and just happened to bump into a couple of fellows named Ernie Banks and Willie Mays at her hotel. 

The GPD Consultant's Report, Part I: Some Constructive Recommendations

I have had the opportunity to wade through the 500+ pages of the report prepared by Carroll Buracker and Associates on behalf of the city of Greensboro. 

This administrative review was ordered by the City Council in response to concerns expressed by the community on matters related to crime and the performance of the Greensboro Police Department.  A perception of increased gang-related crime, and a cluster of homicides late last year, as well as high background crime levels, led the council to issue an implicit message to Chief Bellamy-- that he might be held accountable for how his department performs.

In addition, there has been continuing concern regarding the department's handling of wrongdoing committed by police officers still on the force-- e.g., the sexual assault case.

Numerous citizens had previously spoken out in various ways.  And the issues have received considerable coverage and discussion in the Rhino Times, the Bledsoe series, the News and Record, at Ben Holder's blog, here and at other blogs as well. 

Unfortunately, the process of retaining the GPD consultant was left in the hands of Mitchell Johnson.  The effort overall represents a mixed bag.  Today I am going to concentrate on some of the positive aspects of the report, of which there are many.  It turns out that the Buracker report, explicitly or by implication, deals directly with many of the problems in the department that have been discussed here and elsewhere over the last couple of years.

While an effort was made to slant the presentation given before the City Council in a positive light,  the report directly addresses some unfortunate, unpleasant realities-- and some insufficiencies-- that have existed in the department.

I will enumerate some of the main points made, and how they deal with issues discussed previously (here and elsewhere):

1. Level and quality of supervision over patrol and other officers: There had been allegations made in the Bledsoe series and elsewhere that a number of individual officers had not been working when they should have been; and have been involved, while technically on duty, in a number of nefarious activities.  This is at least partially a problem related to supervision in the field. 

It can be a challenge to supervise officers who are working autonomously in police vehicles.  Buracker had a number of suggestions.  He wants to raise the rank of supervising officers to at least the level of sergeant.  This would imply a higher level of standing, qualification and preparation for supervisory duties.  He remarked that it is very unusual to have corporals shoulder so much supervisory responsibility in a police department, and recommended eliminating that rank entirely.  Instead, he said, there should be at least one lieutenant and sergeant for each shift.

In addition, he calls for the watch commander on duty at all times to be a captain instead of lieutenant-- even nights and weekends.  He wants a Deputy Chief of the Operations Bureau to oversee the whole system.

He wants more high-ranking officers-- those higher in the command structure-- working evenings and weekends, which can be the busiest times.  And he wants patrol officers restricted to a limited geographic zone, so they concentrate on their primary responsibilities and do not wander far afield.  He wants them to be restricted from "self-dispatching", for instance to traffic stops conducted by other officers.

Buracker critiques the process of evaluating the performance of officers.  He indicates the current process is ineffective, and reflects a natural human tendency on the part of supervisors and those within the command structure to avoid dealing with certain issues regarded as unpleasant.   He argues, however, that there should be an ongoing process of "personnel management"-- not evaluation-- that demonstrably produces and documents improvements in performance; and that reflects the core values of the department and the needs of the general public.  Buracker proposes a more structured, systematic approach than that which currently exists.

He wants watch commanders and division commanders to conduct periodic checks to assure staff are working where they are supposed to be working-- even nights and weekends.

And here is, perhaps, the most interesting recommendation of all.  Buracker wants the city to monitor electronically the location of each officer in the field through "vehicle locators" placed on individual cars.  Recall that this was the measure taken by David Wray's men in the case of James Hinson's vehicle that precipitated the GPD fiasco, and all that followed.  This was perhaps the greatest irony in the entire report.

2. Maximizing the availability of authorized officer positions to do productive work: There has been a debate as to whether the department requires additional officers.  Most observers appear to accept the premise that it does.  The Buracker report, however, leads one to believe that the GPD should have more officers at its disposal than it actually does-- right now.

There are a number of reasons for this.  The first, perhaps, reflects the problems and issues with supervision discussed in the previous section-- issues related to employee behavior and inadequate supervision.  But there are other reasons as well.

For instance, Buracker points out that the current scheduling of shifts tends to produce too much coverage during the early hours of the day, and during week days-- and not enough from the early evening through the night, or on weekends.  After all the controversy over David Wray's rotating shift schedule, it appears the department succumbed to the demands of officers and provided a schedule that gave lots of people the most desirable hours.  While it is entirely understandable they would want this type of shift, it does not serve the public well, because crime does not follow the temporal pattern of a traditional work week.

He wants certain units and teams to be deployed evenings and weekends: Community Resource Team (CRT) members; Criminal Investigations detectives, Vice/Narcotics detectives and officers; PNRC (housing projects police); and crime analysis.

He wants only one-officer cars in PNRC, instead of two-officer cars.  And he wants these officers doing surveillance to a greater extent in unmarked cars.  There is some veiled criticism of this section--even a suggestion that it perhaps should be disbanded-- because patrol had to respond to over 76% of the calls in the housing projects-- its territory.

In one of the units that works mostly weekdays, he even found they had structured their work shifts so they have a 3-day weekend every other week.

He wants Criminal Investigations to eliminate all the unnecessary meetings in that department that tie up key staff.  And he wants more clerical help to free up staff  in Criminal Investigations, Vice/Narcotics and at the command level for other activities.

He critiques the recent "knee jerk" City Council decisions with respect to creation of a gang unit and robbery suspension unit.  He wants the gang unit reduced to 8 members, and to have it give some officers back to CRT.  He wants the robbery unit disbanded.

He wants every specialty unit created to have a written purpose and plan, including hours of work and objectives.

Staffing previously did not reflect how busy individual patrol zones are.  As a result, response times in certain zones have been suboptimal.  He wants the department to continue re-drawing the lines of these zones to better reflect work demands, and then reevaluate this situation on an annual basis.

City policy states there needs to be only one officer available per division.  He proposes to correct this deficiency.

He proposes that the traffic unit be deployed to assist with patrol, and with responses to certain priority calls.  He wants the unit to sacrifice its K-9's to the narcotics division.

Because of the way Tim Bellamy devised the most recent schedule, the department apparently has not even remotely been at full strength with respect to officers being deployed at peak times.

Buracker therefore recommends altering the work shifts to more closely reflect the demands that the department experiences.  He wants more clerical support in certain areas so that key staff are not bogged down typing or doing routine administrative chores.  He wants new hires to be dedicated to working the peak times.

He says that it takes too much time to get new recruits through the police academy, and makes recommendations to streamline this process so they can be working more quickly.  (Other parties have suggested taking advantage of criminal justice training available in the community colleges.)  He also wants to achieve certain efficiencies with respect to employee down time due to annual training.

He makes veiled suggestions that there may be abuse of sick time and prolonged light duty assignments; and makes some recommendations to deal with these issues.  It appears to me that the department allows far too much sick time to its employees-- 12 days per year.  I think this should be eliminated, and a fraction of it rolled partially into annual leave time.  Having so much paid sick time invites abuse.

Finally, he observes that the department consistently has less employees working than the number of slots allocated to it by the city.  This is because of resignations, retirements, and the amount of time it takes to get new hires through the police academy.  The department, it seems, is never able to "catch up" to its maximal level of positions allocated.  Buracker makes a suggestion that the department be permitted to hire even more people than appears to be needed so that the department can operate at full strength and  not be caught short via normal attrition.  He calls this process "overhire" or "dual encumber".  This appears to be a good suggestion.

He thinks officers should be permitted to take home their cars to reduce down time going from personal car to patrol car and vice versa; and also to increase visibility in the community.

3. Handling of cases when police officers are accused of wrong-doing: This has been a matter of considerable public discussion and controversy.  Buracker has some pointed observations and recommendations. 

He feels, for instance, that it takes the department too long to review these cases.  And he feels that, in too many cases, the charges are not sustained, and the officer is not disciplined enough.  He points out that the standard of proof in administrative proceedings is lower than in criminal proceedings, yet the GPD seems to operate-- in an unwritten way-- according to a much higher burden of proof for its internal investigations.

It was reported in the Bledsoe series that certain officers at key positions in the internal affairs processes or the departmental hierarchy were able to run screen patterns for officers accused of wrongdoing in the past. 

Buracker finds there is no consistent written policy regarding pay when officers are placed on administrative leave while their cases are being handled.  This presumably creates a situation like Scott Sanders and Tom Fox having their pay withheld; while the officers accused of sexual assault are placed on paid administrative leave for over seven months.

Interestingly, he proposes disbanding the unit on which the alleged sexual assault took place-- TSET.

In any case, he also calls for more charges against staff to be "sustained" when these internal processes take place.  He wants more severe discipline.  He wants accused employees to spend less time on paid administrative leave.  And he calls for faster reviews.  These statements cut to the essence of many of the public criticisms and observations made regarding these processes.

He wants swift discipline when there are violations or abuses of the city's off-duty work program.  This has been another matter of public controversy.

Buracker wants more staff-- and higher ranks-- among those in Internal Affairs. 

Finally, he recommends a consistent, written policy regarding paid administrative leave.

4. Crime-fighting technique-- We have discussed various crime fighting approaches in the past on this blog.  And some have called for a renewed emphasis on patrol activities.  Buracker seems to support the premise that the department's patrol function needs to be strengthened.  He wants more patrol time dedicated to proactive activities instead of "obligated" time.

He wants the department's crime analysts to generate relevant crime data on a daily basis so it can be shared with relevant officers-- including those at the level of patrol.  This would be the near-equivalent of real-time data made available to those doing the work.  He wants them placed under the Deputy Chief of Field Operations to facilitate crime data-sharing with these officers. 

At the level of the individual police officer, he proposes a "beat plan" to describe the activities of those officers within that beat.

He proposes expanded Community Policing and Problem-Oriented Policing.  He wants new emphasis on problem-solving activities in communities at risk.  And he suggests that these activities be inculcated into the basic philosophy of the department, and made a standard part of all new hire training and annual training.

He proposes a captain under the Deputy Chief of Field Operations to coordinate all problem-solving/community policing activities. 

He wants better performance measures of individual units like CRT and PNRC.  He proposes all four units doing community policing being integrated into a single model; and their activities should be coordinated.  (The other two are SRO-- the school resource officers-- and the new, to-be-created unit called Tactical.)

He wants CRT's to maintan detailed logs of their activities and accomplishments.  And he suggests that "beat coordinators"-- a sergeant or lieutenant-- well versed in community policing be assigned to each geographic area.  This person would be handed problems to be addressed, and help coordinate other departmental and city resources and units with a potential to assist with the problem at hand.

TSET deals with street-level narcotics.   It would be replaced with the general tactical unit that is supposed to deal more flexibly and proactively with various problems, and that would receive some of the TSET officers.  Other TSET staff would be directed to the a street crime drugs unit within the narcotics division to assure better coordination on narcotics activities.

Interestingly, Buracker wants the city attorney to work on nuisance abatement cases.  This had been a matter of some public controversy a number of months ago.

I am pleased with the emphasis on problem-oriented policing and problem-solving.

Summary: There is a wealth of recommendations in the full report that address directly items that have been of major concern in the community. Some question the department's ability to fight crime; and its willingness to enforce standards appropriately among its own officers.  The department has been embroiled in controversy for three years over these matters.

There are many helpful perspectives on these matters within the report.  Unfortunately, the verbal presentation given to the City Council emphasized topics such as staffing levels and promotions policies. 

Massive amounts of data were presented verbally to the City Council, but not in a manner that would demonstrate how recommendations would resolve the department's current difficulties with respect to crime-fighting and internal matters.  In fact, there was a concerted effort to make it appear that the department was not experiencing any significant difficulties.

Unfortunately, if the city council presentation is the last word on this report, we will get little of benefit from it.  And if there is more conversation on these sensitive topics, we can be assured that various forces will work behind the scenes to maintain the status quo on certain key issues.  In that event, the city can be counted upon to do precisely the wrong thing, if the past is any indication of what the future will hold.

This post was intended to highlight what I view as the positive aspects of the report-- many of which I am afraid might ultimately be ignored.  A later post will deal with the downsides of the report.

Josh Hamilton's Moment during the Home Run Derby

Just saw Josh Hamilton put on the most impressive power hitting display I have ever seen.  He launched 28 home runs into orbit during the opening round of the Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium, including several shots that exceeded 500 feet.  His pitcher was Clay Counsil, age 71.  Both men have roots in North Carolina.

Imagine.  This is the post-steroid era in major league baseball.

It was a spectacle that will be long remembered as one of the great moments in baseball history, staged during the stadium's final year. 

Oh, and by the way, the young man has somewhat of a comeback story to tell.  And he gives God the credit.

Update: Runs out of gas during the final round.  Still an amazing display.  Makes you wonder about how the Derby is run.

Reggio

Greensboro author/editor Justin Catanoso provides great photos from Reggio di Calabria.  These include a picture of bergomotto, a fruit indigenous to that region; and also of what is commonly referred to as the-most- beautiful-mile-in-Italy-- the "lungomare".

He also provides a link to a Wikipedia article with a description and photograph of the famed Riace bronzes.  Check it all out.

Passing Bonds, Taxes, and Niceties at the City and County Level

We learned last month that the County Board of Commissioners, on a straight party-line vote, decided to raise taxes for Guilford County property owners this year.  This is not strictly a Democrat versus Republican issue, however.  The die was cast for this tax increase when the commissioners elected to place the school bonds on the May ballot.  And at least a couple of Republican county commissioners voted in favor of doing that. 

It was a tragic mistake when the county commissioners blew their opportunity to bring some spending restraint to the school construction process-- a mistake for which county residents will pay dearly.

In addition, the Democratic commissioners-- Gibson, Perkins, Cashion, Parks-- fell back into the loving arms of Skip Alston and the Simkins contingent on the county board, restoring funds for various non-profits, including Simkins boss Alma Adams' museum.

Wendell Sawyer, who is running for the county board, has commented elsewhere that the jail bond is another opportunity for spending restraint:

I hate to be the guy crashing the "new jailhouse party" but I have some serious reservations about the proposed construction costs for the new jail.  

FYI, the frugal folks in Des Moines, Iowa are completing the construction of a new jail for Polk County this year that has 1,500 beds.  The cost? $68 million.

Yet, good old Guilford County has allocated a price tag of $114 million for a new jail that will have only 1,000 beds.  It's simply amazing what can be done to save taxpayers some money when local government officials are worried about raising property taxes.

Apparently, the county commissioners in Lincoln, Nebraska were impressed with the low construction costs of the Polk County, Iowa jail project.  The Lincoln Journal Star reported on 1/18/08:  “Commissioners are making plans to visit the Polk County, Iowa, jail to see how officials there have managed to build a 1,500-bed jail for $68 million. That project is due for completion later this year.”
 
Guilford County Jail; 1,000 beds: $114 million
Polk County Jail; 1,500 beds: $68 million

Hmmm...I think that we should pay for some airfare and send our commissioners on a little trip to Des Moines.  But, I doubt there would be much interest in such a journey.  Guilford County has money to burn on this project.  After all, raising property taxes in Guilford County has become a time-honored tradition.


Meanwhile, we learn of some last minute maneuvering over at Hogg's Blog, where it is revealed how there was no plan for a city parks bond this year-- i.e, until the City Manager decided at the last minute, with notice of only a week or two to council members and parks commission members, that there would, in fact, be a parks bond.

The city also has a transportation bond, which misleadingly includes funding for such niceties such as the Greenway and sidewalks and the like.  We also had previously seen a political effort to assure that the city transportation bond would help facilitate real estate development. 

The city placed the Greenway on this bond in spite of county taxpayers having just rejected it.  The city also is pursuing a bond to renovate War Memorial Auditorium even though city taxpayers rejected it two years ago.   It seems we keep voting on these things until political conditions allow them to pass.  Perhaps the city is hoping the Obama voter this fall-- who does not perceive he or she pays property taxes-- will vote "yes".

A few city council members at the last meeting appeared antagonized over how the bonds had been handled by staff.  But on the other hand, some council members most closely affiliated with the Melderec con Simkins machine were not bothered with the situation.  Perhaps therein lies an explanation for some of that which occurred.

Mike Barber unfortunately wants the city parks bond to include a pool that also had been rejected by voters two years ago.

Perhaps the entire philosophy behind bonds is mistaken.  Perhaps we should just pay as we go for all these projects, instead of using bonds-- and have our elected officials take direct responsibility for the projects they vote to fund.  Otherwise, our local government at both the county and city levels consists of an incessant series of bond proposals and almost-annual tax increases.  And blaming it on voters is a common ploy to evade responsibility. 

The fact is that there is consistently a concerted effort to propose and pass these bonds, with most of our elected officials blithely acquiescing.  And it sometimes seems that almost no one cares about the taxpayer.

Indeed, our greatest need is for better elected officials who take stewardship seriously.

North Carolina Progressives and the Air Conditioning Dilemma

I began thinking about air conditioning the other day.  I was driving to work and, mindful of the price of gasoline, began to wonder how much using my automobile air conditioning during my daily commute was costing me.  Air conditioning places additional stress on the engine, resulting in additional fuel consumption-- at least under some conditions.

And of course, most of us have an existence that includes air conditioning both at work and at home.  The electricity that powers residential and commercial air conditioning is generated by power plants using coal, nuclear power, natural gas and occasionally even oil.  Air conditioning oft results in expending copious amounts of fossil fuels and also nuclear; and thereby creates certain environmental/safety risks because of the degree to which AC is used in the spaces we occupy.

This must represent a terrible dilemma for North Carolina progressives.  We live in a part of the country that would be considerably less pleasant if we did not have air conditioning.  I enjoy hearing old-timers from the area-- and some not-so-old-timers-- talk about growing up in the region years ago without air conditioning.  They like to remind us that most northerners would never have migrated south had it not been for the availability of this amenity.

Contrary to assumptions that appear to be commonly held,  AC is not necessary for life under most circumstances.  Humans survived for millenia without it.

Today, we worry about the carbon footprint we leave.  We wring our hands about global warming and greenhouse gases and acid rain and rising oil prices and depletion of energy resources.  We bemoan the catastrophes that would await if we drill for oil in certain places, build refineries, or begin to license nuclear plants once again.  We worry about what the future will hold for our planet.  We talk about devising schemes that would raise costs for everyone significantly, hoping that it will make an impact on these issues.

We devise such public policies at the state level, the federal level-- and yes, even at the local level-- to demonstrate how conscientious we are on these matters.  If you do not favor these measures, you risk being branded as unenlightened and capricious on matters commonly held to be of concern.

And yet this summer, I see little evidence that air conditioning utilization in our region is declining, except perhaps because of strained economics in individual households.  Many North Carolina progressives, like most of us, have come to regard this as an amenity that cannot be sacrificed.  And if high utilization contributes to all the worrisome impacts listed above, well, so be it.

Do as I say, not as I do.

Greensboro's Crime Rates, the Hired Consultant, and the News and Record

Today in the News and Record, we see a prominently placed front page article extolling the work of the Greensboro Police Department.  The article draws from the work of the consultant hired to perform an administrative review of the department.  The consultant found that there had been a decrease in crime rates in Greensboro since 1995.  We were led to believe that this statistic should reassure us that the city and its police department were doing a great job managing crime.

I have had the opportunity to read parts of the consultant's report, and also attend his presentation Monday night.  I was struck by the slicing and dicing of data that created misleading appearances.  It is clear that, at least to some extent, the consultant was trying to help out the city and the department from a PR standpoint, and the newspaper subsequently acquiesced with this particular story.

It is true that Greensboro was at an approximate apogee with respect to crime rates around 1995.  There are probably various reasons for this.

It would be helpful to understand further the context of the statistical claims made by Buracker.

First, we need to view his data through the prism of trends in nationwide crime rates.  In fact, there have been fairly significant declines in crime through much of the nation since the late 1980's/early 1990's.  Certain societal trends likely influence these statistics in various ways.  A report of the Urban Institute, a liberal think tank, discusses the nationwide decreases in crime rates.  (It attempts to offer analysis, and that is beyond the scope of my discussion here.   I do not necessarily agree with all of its conclusions.)

But the fact remains that the decrease in crime in Greensboro occurred simultaneously with a national trend toward declining crime rates.  The question is to what extent that decrease reflects the work of the department; and the answer to that question is extremely unclear.  Buracker's representation on this matter appears to have been just a bit disingenuous. 

Certainly, it is clear that crime in Greensboro during the mid-1990's appears to have been much worse than we were led to believe at that time. 

Second, we need to compare Greensboro's crime rates with the national average, and in this respect we do not do well.  The best on-line source I was able to find that graphically makes this comparison demonstrates that, in most categories of crime, we were well above the national average based on 2003 data.

Obama and the Unborn

Click to enlarge. 

From Faithmouse (via Pro-Life Blogs).

Perkins/ Lincoln Financial Land Development Tax-Exempt?

There was an intriguing letter-to-the-editor in the most recent edition of the Rhino Times (ht: Keith).  It reads as follows:

I read with interest about Councilmember Robbie Perkins and his effort, through city staff, to incentivize the running of sewer lines to the property on High Point Road that he is marketing for Lincoln Financial. The property is supposedly being considered by a developer for a continuing care retirement community (CCRC). Now it appears we know why Mr. Perkins decided to run for City Council again. Commission on a $10 million sale would be attractive to anyone. Mr. Perkins should level with the citizens of Greensboro and Guilford County and reveal that a CCRC is a tax-exempt facility. CCRCs purport to be nonprofit and the North Carolina General Assembly, with efforts from lobbyists, has played along by passing a statute recognizing CCRCs as nonprofits, hence tax exempt. CCRCs, as defined by the statute, pay no property tax. Imagine a property valued at $10 million being removed from the Guilford County tax base. Who will make up the lost revenue? The quick answer is: The property owners of Greensboro, High Point and Guilford County. As of May 5, 2008, there were seven CCRCs in Guilford County – four in Greensboro and three in High Point. The property owners in all of Guilford County are indirectly subsidizing these CCRCs. Property tax is not the only tax not paid by CCRCs, but the property tax issue is the one that most property owners are concerned about just now; after all, property taxes have increased for the past four years and will increase again this year. There are 105 CCRCs in North Carolina. The citizens of our state cannot afford to subsidize these CCRCs through higher property taxes. The vast majority of our senior citizens struggle to pay their own property taxes. Subsidizing CCRCs where only a fraction of senior citizens live, many from places other than North Carolina, is unfair. What to do: Request the Greensboro City Council deny all requests by the CCRC that is attempting to buy the High Point Road property and write the North Carolina legislature asking for repeal of property tax exemption for CCRCs.

This is a very important, potentially explosive revelation if it is true.  Consider the inappropriateness of incentives being arranged-- or even discussed-- for a project in which a city councilman is involved, and which would yield little or no tax revenues for the city.

The GPD Consultant's Presentation

I had the opportunity tonight to attend the presentation of the consultant retained by the city of Greensboro at the City Council meeting.  The report itself is supposed to be on-line at the city's website tonight, and I will review the written report later.

I will not attempt to relate all of his findings, but merely hit some of the highlights and share my impressions.

1. Carroll Buracker did most of the presenting.  In a nutshell, the charge given to this firm was to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the GPD by performing a comprehensive administrative review.  The tone of his presentation was overall positive, and there was considerable detail.  He went out of his way to highlight vociferously those functions in the department that were being performed well.   He emphasized that various observations led him to believe that the city has a "good government".  It was clear he was attempting to counteract certain public criticisms of the city and of the department.  It should be noted, however, that he had many recommendations to remedy deficiencies-- and in particular, he delivered a stinging indictment of the department's promotions practices, albeit gently.

2. It was represented that the promotions policies that have existed within the department over the years is the chief factor that has led to all of the racial tensions and disharmony we have seen.  He described the current promotions policy which is apparently very subjective and ill-defined.  He urged the immediate adoption of a process that is more objective and systematic, and recommended in specific a plan that had been submitted previously by the Police Officers Association.

3. He recommended a total of 79 additional staff, including 54 sworn officers and 25 non-sworn positions.  He decried a lack of support staff-- clerical help-- in various areas, including police administration.  There was some reshuffling of staff among the various divisions and units; and he recommended removing one unit in particular.  Earlier in the talk, however, he compared staffing levels in Greensboro versus staffing at other NC police departments.   We were in the middle of the pack.  He stated then that no particular staffing level was correct or incorrect among these various cities, but then went on to recommend the additional positions in Greensboro.  That seemed to me a glaring inconsistency.

4. He described certain problems with pay.  Because of off-duty pay, some officers of lower rank were making more money than the highest rank officers.   He criticized the absence of a written policy regarding this.  Some , in addition, were seen to be racking up extraordinary numbers of off-duty hours worked, which seemed to cry out for further explanation.  He recommended remedying this pay situation, supervising the off-duty situation better, and setting monthly caps on off-duty hours worked. 

5. He found that staffing was not, hour by hour, proportionate to the workload.  He wanted more detectives and higher ranked officers available nights and weekends, even to the extent that he recommended a higher-ranked officer on duty to provide leadership at these times.

6. He recommended an expanded approach to community policing, and more coordination among the various units involved. 

7. He criticized the performance and capabilities of the department's human resources function.  He suggested that the function needs to be professionalized to a greater extent.  There was a suggestion that diversity training may be insufficient during the training process. 

8. He felt Internal Affairs was inadequately staffed, and the officers within it were of insufficient rank.  He deliberately sidestepped the question of whether individual cases involving police officers under scrutiny were not being handled objectively and expeditiously, and regarding the amount of time that accused officers should be on leave with pay, when Mary Rakestraw asked him about this.  It was not really clear he reviewed individual cases extensively, however. 

9. He wanted to create a Deputy Chief of Field Operations with the activities beneath him emphasizing more problem-solving and accountability.  He recommended eliminating TSET and beefing up a tactical team emphasizing preventive, proactive response to anticipated crimes  He suggested an 8 member gang unit.   He wants to "civilianize" certain jobs.

10. He wants the patrol staff to spend only up to 40% of its time "obligated" toward calls, and at least 60% performing proactive work.  The ratio of obligated time is now 49%. 

11. He called the Melvin Municipal Building inadequate as a police headquarters, and called for a new headquarters. 

12. He wants officers to be able to use their police cars on their personal time to a greater extent to increase visibility in the community and decrease the down time spent running back and forth between the personal car and police car.

13. He emphasized that no one asked him to make any specific recommendations.  However, it was clear that many of the recommendations probably arose from perspectives gained in discussions with certain individuals.  The net effect of his recommendations will be to provide better facilities, more staffing, more clerical support, more objective promotions, higher ranks among officers employed on average, more promotion paths, more personal use of police cars, and better pay among top staff.  In various ways, some of his recommendations sound like the fulfillment of certain wish lists.   One is still left wondering to what extent the consultant felt he needed to please the folks who hired him, and the officers within the department.  When the task of hiring him was placed in the hands of the city manager, it unfortunately tainted the entire effort.  The City Council should have retained control.

14. There was disappointingly little in the presentation about ways to enhance productivity and efficiency among existing staff other than certain types of restructuring.  The concern that some officers may not be working the shifts for which they are being paid was not addressed.  There was nothing about the department being top-heavy from an administrative standpoint, and instead he seems to want more higher ranked officers.  (Successful reform efforts elsewhere have emphasized a flattening of the administrative structure; but he did not appear to recommend this.)  He alleged that 99% of the officers employed in the department had no involvement in all the mess we have witnessed over the last several years, but did not relate upon what objective basis he made that statement.  He lamented the lack of experience among the department's command structure, but did not discuss any further the circumstances that led to this situation-- the overt politicization of the department, and the pushing out of previous leaders with insufficient cause. 

15. With respect to effectiveness-- and the use of specific crime-fighting techniques to drive crime levels downward-- there was little new offered beyond certain types of administrative restructuring.  There was no discussion regarding levels of aggressiveness with respect to proactive policing, or "broken windows".

16. Robbie Perkins immediately praised it as the best presentation he had ever seen, and as a vindication of the city's overall operations and approaches.  He had not yet had time to read the report, or analyze critically and digest what he had seen.

17. While various members of the council appeared pleased, they are left with certain issues-- whether and how much to fund new positions, and how quickly; and also how the new positions will be funded.  A large bond package was also discussed at the meeting that would potentially result in tax increases.  And remember how we witnessed last month various knees wobbling and depictions of cataclysm related at the prospect of making even the most trivial cuts in spending.  It appears taxes may be headed upward significantly in the City of Greensboro.

GPD Officers' Association Speaks Out on Eve of Release of Consultant's Report

This evening, I received an e-mail from HE Summers (I presume to be Eddie Summers) of the Greensboro Police Officers Association.  It was a communication that had also been sent to Greensboro City Council members and local media.

I am reproducing the e-mail in its entirety below.  But in doing so, I am not vouching for the validity or accuracy of the points made in this communication.  Instead, I am sharing it here to stimulate discussion, because the group claims to represent the point of view of Greensboro police officers.  I invite all interested individuals and parties to comment.

The association apparently wishes to weigh in and influence public perceptions before the consultant's report is released tomorrow night:

Much has been written recently about the increasingly slow response times by the Greensboro Police Department to emergency calls for service. The Greensboro Police Officers Association does not need to wait for a commissioned study to know the Greensboro Police Department needs more street cops.

The GPOA has always begged and pleaded for more call answering officers to address the increased call load and slow response times. We have repeatedly made our requests known to Police Administration and the City Council, only to be put off while studies were completed or "new" strategies were implemented and evaluated. Seldom were new much needed positions added to call answering.

During the long ago annexation of Adams Farm, Chief Daughtry requested minimal officers to staff the new area. GPOA representatives pleaded for sufficient manpower to handle future growth in the area. The Council did hear our appeal and was gracious enough to fund more positions than Police Administration requested.

In 2000, GPOA representatives met with Chief White and voiced our concerns about manpower shortages. Chief White recognized the manpower shortage and slow response times and advised Council that 100+ officers would be needed. Council did fund some new positions, but failed to follow through in the ensuing years.

Upon becoming Chief of Police, Wray chose to begin rotating shifts. In statements to the GPOA, Wray stated it was his choice to implement rotating shifts to "spread around the experienced officers, special team members, officers with language skills and to a lesser degree, females." He further stated he was concerned with a lack of experience on night shift. Wray made no mention of manpower issues influencing his decision.

But in a November 2003 News and Record article by Russ Rizzo concerning Wray's implementation of rotating shifts, it is mentioned that rotating shifts will increase manpower on the street. This was a falsehood that was challenged by the GPOA, but was ignored by City Staff, Police Administration and the media. In fact, this falsehood was repeated by City Manager Kitchen in a memo to City employees.

With permanent shifts, more officers could be added to selected shifts to address peak call times. With rotating shifts, all shifts must be staffed equally to minimize increased numbers of officers being assigned during non-peak hours.

In early 2004, Wray requested a manpower study, which was conducted by both City Budget and Police personnel. This study found the GPD needed 99 officers to cover increasing response areas and decrease response times. In April 2004, the GPOA funded a billboard expressing the need for additional manpower in lieu of continued annexation. In a July 23, 2004 article in the News & Record, it was documented that on one night, only 14 call answering officers were on duty to answer emergency calls. Remember that number, 14.

In April 2004, the GPOA publicly requested that Council halt any future annexations until sufficient call-answering manpower was in place. The then-recent annexation of Reedy Fork and the Birch Creek area near McLeansville were cited as lacking necessary police protection. The Council ignored us then and continues to ignore us now with the recent annexation of 10,000 new residents in the River Hills/ Cardinal area.

In the 2004-2005 Budget, Council funded 32 new call answering positions. In February 2005, Wray said the GPD needed 40 new positions, but strayed from emergency call answering and chose to fund only specialized positions. The GPOA strongly opposed this plan and voiced our position. Council wisely recognized this flawed request and chose not to fund any new specialized positions.

The GPOA has repeatedly requested competitive recruitment incentives to bring quality candidates to the Department and to keep them here for the duration of their careers. Greensboro can not match the benefits provided by comparably sized departments.

At 0300 hours on the morning of June 22, 2008, 15 call answering cars were on duty to answer emergencies in the city. Only two were available in District 2, the city's smallest, but busiest district. Four cars were on duty in the city's largest district, District 3, but were tied up with the aftermath of a gunman who had feloniously assaulted his mother and pointed a shotgun at an officer before barricading himself inside his home. In 2004 there were 14 documented officers, on June 22, 2008 there are 15.

During the early morning hours of June 30th, there were 19. On July 1st while 255,000 Greensboro residents were tucked in their beds, there were 19 officers protecting you. Most days there are more officers, but not a great deal more per shift and it continues to get worse.

Two months ago, the plan was to pay 25 officers per day at time and a half rate to cover the River Hills/ Cardinal area. The current plan is to backfill with 3 additional positions for second, third and fourth shifts for a total of 9 additional officers per day. It is possible that only 18 officers may have to cover the whole city tomorrow night or next week.

Late night trespassing, fights and shootings around area nightclubs along West Lee Street and High Point Road are a common issue on weekends. Those who attend these disturbances comment that they enjoy coming to Greensboro because Greensboro officers do nott arrest them. They know firsthand that frustrated and overwhelmed officers can only shoo them away to the next parking lot or the next fight and can't enforce the laws due to being shorthanded.

In his June 28, 2008 article, Lex Alexander erroneously states that starting on June 30th, the GPD will reorganize "the city's four patrol divisions to base more officers in areas that generate the most calls." In actuality, June 30th will bring larger districts, larger response zones, slower response times to emergencies citywide and no additional officers. Citizen's and officer's safety are being foolishly jeopardized. God, help us.

The Greensboro Police Officers Association

Tony Solicits Your Prayers

Blog friend Tony Wilkins asks us to pray for his family, and will be out of action for a while due to illness.  Tony, we will be lifting you and your family up.

Chronicling all of Obama's Flip-Flops

Much has been written over the last couple of weeks regarding the rapidly escalating number of flip-flops we have seen Barack Obama make.  Two excellent articles were written on this topic by Charles Krauthammer. 

It has been a classic presidential campaign strategy for many years to run toward the more ideological party base during the primaries, and then to move toward the center for the general election season.  But what we are seeing with Obama is ridiculous.  Unfortunately, he might get a pass from the mainstream media, which continues to be smitten with his visage, and with what his election would represent.

In any event, here is a list of the flip-flop items.  I am trying to make the list as complete as possible.  He reversed himself on the following positions that he took initially:

1. Accepting public campaign financing

2. Opposing the FISA bill that would facilitate electronic surveillance of international communications and extend immunity to telecom companies

3. Opposing free trade and NAFTA.

4. Meeting with Iran's Ahmadinejad without preconditions

5. Solidarity with Reverend Wright

6. Non-solidarity with his white grandmother

7. Refraining from wearing a flag pin

8. Belief in the constitutionality of the Washington D.C. gun

9. Support of rapid withdrawal from Iraq

10. Support of late-term abortion due to mental health reasons

11. Opposition to President Bush's faith-based initiatives.

The Washington Times reports that some on the left are very unhappy with the extent to which Obama has changed his positions, and that some are considering a switch to Ralph Nader.

The Democratic Party may win the upcoming elections big.  But it nonetheless has a major problem on its hands.  It is nominating another overt prevaricator, just as it did in 1992.

Health Care: How We Stack Up Compared with Other Countries

Michael Tanner of the Cato Institute recently published a policy analysis that attempts to compare our health care system with those found in other countries.  For many years, various parties have alleged that health care is better in foreign nations, and the health status of the peoples in those countries is higher, because of their socialized health care systems.

Tanner debunks much of this.  He makes reference to a study demonstrating that life expectancy in the US is higher than that of virtually all other countries if one adjusts for homicides and accidents.  In addition, our health care system is superior with respect to the treatment of specific disease categories such as cancer. 

And he points out that economic challenges and service interruptions afflict most of the major health care systems outside the US.

We don't stack up so badly after all.

See You Monday Night

I will try to attend the City Council meeting Monday night.  On the agenda is the unveiling of the consultant's report that ostensibly is to provide an independent administrative review of the GPD. 

We cannot be sure if the report is truly independent.  In addition, mixed, uncertain signals have been sent as to whether the full report will be shared with the general public, when, and in what form.

If you plan to attend, I may see you there Monday night.

Jesse Helms vs. Sam Ervin

Sam Spagnola points out, correctly, how some journalists are making the obligatory prefatorial comments when discussing Jesse Helms' death.

But one national journalist of considerable stature-- John Fund of the Wall Street Journal-- has some nice things to say about Helms. And he makes a comparison between the media's treatment of Jesse Helms and its treatment of another former North Carolina Senator, Sam Ervin.  He points out there was considerable affection for Ervin because of his role in the Watergate hearings (and presumably also because of his party affiliation):

"The mainstream media rarely put Helms's career in context the way they did, for example, with Sam Ervin, a Democrat who served with Helms in the Senate from North Carolina before retiring in 1975. Ervin was the leading legal strategist against Civil Rights legislation, and he largely crafted the Southern Manifesto against Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court case that ruled school segregation unconstitutional. But Ervin was the man who chaired the Watergate hearings that helped bring down Richard Nixon, and his views on civil rights were almost never mentioned. Both Helms and Ervin were courtly, principled conservatives. Only one became a cartoon media villain."

I have been living in North Carolina for 14 years.  In addition, I have been following national politics since the early 1970's.  But I can scarcely recall anyone in the media, here in NC or nationally, emphasizing this part of Ervin's legacy.

(Incidentally, on a seemingly unrelated matter, Ervin's grandson is on track to win a state judgeship in this year's election). 

Independence Day and Ronald Reagan

I was watching one of the morning news programs today reporting about Independence Day, and showing clips of various reenactments taking place of revolutionary times.  And while the imagery is always good, it occurred to me that those in the networks presenting these news programs, and many of the viewers, have little clue as to the principles upon which our nation was founded, and how far we have wandered away from those founding principles. 

It is still a great country.  But the founding fathers likely would be rolling in their graves if they knew what the nation has become.

When we were in California a few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to visit the Ronald Reagan Library and Museum in Simi Valley.  I had never been to California previously, and had told myself that if I ever went, I would make it a point to visit the museum.

We all remember when Reagan died several years ago.  It was a poignant scene when so many Americans lined the roads leading up the hill to the library site where his memorial services were held, in appreciation of what he had done for our nation and the world.

And the library/museum site is spectacular.  The setting is profoundly beautiful, and the complex itself is very impressive, with an attached hangar housing the Air Force One plane used when he was president.

We visited on a Monday, and I thought we were going to be among only a handful of visitors there.  But in fact the place had a large number of people touring the museum.  California apparently is still Reagan country.

Walking through the museum itself was an emotional experience.  This was not because anything depicted was particularly sad or tragic.  And yes, there were excellent depictions of Reagan's life, his policies and priorities interspersed among the various exhibits scattered through the museum.

But I found particularly striking the screens and monitors continuously dispensing Reagan's oratory.  The accompanying visual images and light background music, together with Reagan's voice, evoked feelings of love of country that nearly moved me to tears.

Reagan's people (including Mike Deaver) were always good at enhancing Reagan's speeches with an inspiring visual component.  But partaking these at the museum was like experiencing poetry and music and the 4th of July all wrapped into one.

Reagan got it.  He understood the nation's founding principles, and did what he could to move it back in that direction. 

There are enormous societal and media pressures constantly nudging us the wrong way, together with the impact of a national party that is quasi-socialist in nature.  There is a population that is much different attitudinally than the stock that made our country great.  And we have an economic, political, cultural-- and even in the long run, military-- environment that poses great risks.

At this particular moment, I think we need to be praying for our nation.