Henry Raymond
Fairfax News => Current News & Events => Topic started by: Mummy on January 27, 2010, 08:18:05 AM
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All of the discussion about the need for a Police Department was not necessary. The VSP took care of it in record time along with a twist that only a Hollywood would have come up with. Thank You VSP for working this as fast as you did.
Celt9 (I think this was your id name) don't feel bad, you said what you felt and some would agree with you but will never release it into words. I agreed with you on 80% of what you said but I don't agree that we need a Police Department. Truly, this little Town of Fairfax doesn't have enough crime for a Town owned Police Department.
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So the forum dwellers don't get the satisfaction of learning the outcome??? Was it on the news? In the paper?
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The outcome was in the newspaper but haven't seen it in on the news. It seems that there are more charges to come. Possibly on victim and offender.
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I can say that I can support the belief that Fairfax doesn't require its own police department, but I do support increased patrolling by the Sheriff department. As in, we pay for more than just 40 hours of coverage a week.
I am not looking to get into a bulletin board debate, but just don't want one individual's belief to be the only viewpoint out here.
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Finally saw the story.
If you lay down with dogs, you're going to get fleas.
I feel really bad for the pregnant woman offering all that cash in defense of her brother. Not that I think he should have been beaten the way he was, but sheesh!
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We're not talking about "that" under this title ... just the debate over a Police Department. Although, that is an excellent view point about the pregnant mother's $$$ - perhaps you should start a "new topic" for that discussion.
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Well, then...
Fairfax likely doesn't need an entire police department, but it certainly needs better support in some fashion or other. I think there was some discussion/controversy (what isn't?) a few years ago about training for the constables.
Speed traps in the center of town are fine for generating revenue for the Sheriff's dept (which is the purpose, certainly), but not a deterrent of any sort for the criminal element lurking about. The solution is obviously not going to be a single approach, but a combination of things.
The best ideas come from brainstorming to see what comes up--nothing is out of the question initially. How to do this large scale thinking town-wide is difficult since most people prefer not to be involved in anything or be bothered.
A good example is the population of the town is approximately 5000 people (I think), give or take 1000. I think only about a 3rd or less of the population are registered voters in the town. Since there are only about 1000 students in all of BFA--some of which are from other towns, the majority of the population is adults.
All of the important decisions regarding the town are made by a very small number of its residents. This may not be considered the appropriate topic for this thread, but many veer off the chosen path all the time.
The law enforcement needs of the town should be determined by everyone... maybe a campaign to register voters before town meeting is needed?
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I know this isn't the forum for this but does anyone have the link the article about how the andy naylor thing panned out? I already pretty much know what happened but I'd like to see how its worded in an article.
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There has been no official press release by the police - The article is a media interpretation, not necessarily accurate. Shadylane8 I am sure you have heard 4 or 5 versions of the story as have I and it keeps changing - I just don't feel right about posting something that is going to change again, especially when we are talking about individuals many of us know. The media does not always necessarily get it right and will never be able to pull back something that is erroneous.
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That topic has nothing to do with this title.
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Mummy is very defensive of her here thread...
So I was in Manhattan today for the first time in my life. They have cops on horses here. Maybe if we get a police department, we could buy them horses instead of cars. There is a cost savings opportunity. They also have a naked guitar player in Times Square who really isn't naked. But I bet if the 158 Main management knew of him and they were real Business Men, they could hire him for their Grand Opening. Just a thought.
In other news, a baby was born, a man cried in his apartment, and my daughter's 'bear' is still missing.
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Yeah, Drewcrash I just try to follow the instructions to set a "good" example for others. General Chit Chat is located under General Discussion. It's a lot like what does the price of tea in China has to do with a Fairfax Police Department? Nothing - it means nothing, so it is a waste of time for those who see a subject and expect to find information pertaining to that subject not something totally off the wall! But hey do whatever you want ... it's a free world ain't it?
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Is there a lot of concrete there, Drew ?
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Actually I think the discussion about the need for a police department was derived from that incident so I would think that it does have a little something to do with this title. I'm sorry your so against random "chit chat" but then again whats a forum or blog without it?
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Umm...JD Salinger died. The Catcher in the Rye is a great book if you haven't read it. But if you're the sensitive type who doesn't like cursing, don't bother, your eyes will bleed! :P
And for the record, I DID say a lot about police in an earlier post and other stuff....
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@ Mummy: Will you please advise where I can find these instructions? I was not aware there were instructions. Please note, I am being serious. I like to follow instructions and was not aware of them.
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back on topic: the following was something I posted on a different thread Chris Santee and I were having regarding which yarn is best to use to make mittens out of. It belongs here and is very well on topic.
I believe a dedicated police department is not required and this is what I believe is the problem / opportunity for improvement:
I actually have a very specific ideas on this topic to double the coverage to not exceed 80 hours a week, and am confident that it could be well executed with minimum to no impact on the taxpayer. The plan would require a review of the current scheduling process of how and when the Sheriff's office is present in town and the end plan could very well be done with possible 60 hours.
I know there are solid solutions to navigate through this event by providing cost downs in our largest expense, the school department. I am not going to share my plan publicly on this message board, in order to be prevent confrontation and arguments to erupt. If you have noticed from my more recent posts, I am trying to bring humor to the boards in order to defuse emotional anger towards each others comments.
I will say this though, the mere mention of a cost down initiative from the school department is likely to spark enough debate. I believe we could easily find $80,000 to support doubling our patrol coverage. And before anyone attacks me for being anti-school let me state the following: I was an education major, my wife is a teacher, and I would even support an increased property tax rate for Fairfax to have a full-time preschool / kindergarten options.
What I truly believe is missing, is an acceptance to the fact that the Sheriff's office is a supplier to the town of Fairfax. As a supplier, there needs to be improved supplier management driven by continuous improvement processes that should be led by appointments from the town selectmyn to a community police board. As I am confident that the town is likely managing the Sheriff's department to an extent and likely has good communication with the department, it is not transparent enough to the citizens of Fairfax. I look at the Committee for the community center and my thoughts aside on this topic, they are doing an excellent job at communicating, opening themselves up to input by all, and running a truly transparent operation. I believe the school department and its programs as well do an excellent job at this too, as does our amazing volunteer fire department. The FCSD is completely absent when compared to the other two pillars (fire, school) that are critical to our town's success as a community.
I am, in no way, advocating for a full-time police department at this time. I truly believe increased patrols, improved communication between FCSD and increased accountability through a community police board will help drive improvement and eliminate the concerns that continue to be vocalized by the residents. We all know the FCSD is more than capable and able to meet our needs, but we should not ignore our rights to be able to hold this department accountable to the standards we require for our community.
I will ask this simple question, do residents of Fairfax believe that speeding is an issue throughout our community and we would like to see a reduction in this? I believe the answer is yes. In review of the Sheriff's web page, they publish the list of traffic violation citations per month. What the information does not share with you, is how many of these violations were generated from a single traffic stop. In addition, you can see that we go from months in which there were only 3 violations for the entire month to 26 violations the next month. Why such a large delta month to month? What statistical analysis is being done here? Officer on duty? Time of day? etc...
I see a statistical problem when you look at the standard deviation in the month to month # of tickets being issued. How do we have months of 3, 5, & 7 and then other months of 25 and 26? Are you telling me we only speed that much in July and October but not in May or June? The FCSD is issuing one citation every 12 hours. Once again, we all know we can get multiple citations on a single traffic stop. But still, one every 12 hours? Is our crime rate that bad in which the other 11 hours they are solving the great dilemmas of Fairfax? Speed traps can not solely be set up at the car wash!
I don't mean to focus on one single problem, but I am trying to highlight the need for accountability. It makes no sense we can a have a month with only 3 - THREE - traffic citations and another month with 26. This makes ABSOLUTELY no sense. That month, the FCSD issued a ticket every 57.77 hours. Are you kidding me? In that same month, there was 8 listed incidents and 2 arrests (one of which was excessive speed in which had to have been one of the 3 traffic citations.) What was the FCSD doing the entire month?
I just don't accept the notion that there job is to solely patrol. There needs to be more enforcement and if we don't think there aren't opportunities for improvement on 104, 104A, Buck Hollow Road, Carroll Hill Road, Fletcher Road (& others) then we are simply tossing our money away by not holding more accountability. This is not a knock against the individual staff members, nor is it a knock against their abilities, but merely an observation that there are discrepancies that should and need to be addressed.
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One possible on the variation on traffic violations may have been
our burglary problem a several months ago.
I know for a fact the FCSD was very busy during their 40 hours
tracking several juveniles.
Now that the problem has been resolved, perhaps they have more time available.
But that's just something that pops into my head, I'll need to confirm the months.
You raise some other great issues we should address.
But, for now, I've got to run.
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Chris: I'd love to talk more and I'd love to sit down and provide true statistical analysis, of which can not be completed without open book data from FCSD. I am a firm believer in statistics and it has a place in government and public policy. As much as we trust our FCSD, myself included, it doesn't make them immune from the citizens of Fairfax demanding improved service and holding them accountable for the improvement. and quite frankly, I don't think there is anyone who is going to take this initiative.
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I have NOT been back to Fairfax for over 20 years, BUT I can tell you all 1 thing.
One Officer at 40 grand a year will not cut it.
Fairfax is too big square miles wise for one Lone Ranger....
If you all get / have a Constable, and I think there is one, does FAIRFAX get a cut of tickets they write?
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Yes Fairfax does have a Constable who, from what I understand, is more than willing to be active from a LE perspective. In the past when the issue has been brought up, the Select Board's standard answer is that it's "too much liability" for the town- even though, according to VT League of Cities and Towns, Fairfax has the same insurance policy as most other towns in the state.
As long as a Constable is elected (as opposed to appointed by the Select Board), only the voters can limit their law enforcement powers. This has not happened in Fairfax. My opinion is that if we have someone that's willing to do it, has the proper training, and we're willing to support them- both morally and monetarily, then utilizing a Constable is a great idea.
And yes, the town would get nearly 100% of any fines issued (I believe it's the full fine minus "processing fees" or something like that).
I'm not sure if his term is up or not- or even if he's running this year- but VOTE FOR JOSH! :D
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@ trussell: This was probably the most interesting information posted in the past week on this topic. Good information to know and have. In regards to the town government saying 'too much' liability...I just don't get that. I could see them saying there is too much liability if they wanted to build an outdoor pool, but how could liability be an issue for a public service such as LE. Is there liability, sure I suppose. But isn't liability worth it for something like this? Anyway, I think the only solution is to have a coupe and install a monarchy to run Fairfax. I am going to need some Lords and Dukes. Please email me your resumes... :-)
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Drew,
I will come back to Fairfax and patrol them mean streets.
Just get me 12mb down and 1mb up with internet.......
Oh, and pay me a salary.
I don't need much...
Dry roof, dry floor (not dirt), that power stuff.
I am set!
There would be a NEW Sheriff in town.
Fairfax CSI.
Law & Order in FAIRFAX
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LOL Thanks Trevor I still have 2 years left on my term though no voting yet. As far as things changing with the Constable getting a longer leash.... we both know what the result of that battle will be.
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"Longer Leash", eh? Good luck! I'd approve it if it were up to me!
2 years left? Is it a 3-year term now? Cool!
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When I saw Trevor's post, it reminded me, I first met Trevor and had no idea who he was one time when I was doing some reasearch on Fairfax Genealogy down at the Town Office. He was constable at the time and I think was checking on a dog owner.