Pay-per-cop coming to a neighbohood near you?
If you live in West Covina, California, the likelihood of all these things coming to fruition is likely to become a reality if Police Commander Paul La Commare has his way.
Recently, La Commare penned an article entitled “Generating Revenue Streams” for “Police Chiefs Magazine” encouraging other departments to adopt his dystoptian policies of austerity on the already strapped American people.
Some of the ideas that La Commare suggests police departments across the nation adopt are:
•city tow companies,
•fine increases by 50 percent,
•pay-per-call policing,
•vacation house check fees,
•public hours at police firing range for a fee,
•police department-run online traffic school for minor traffic infractions,
•department-based security service including home checks and monitoring of security cameras by police department,
•a designated business to clean biological crime scenes,
•state and court fees for all convicted felons returning to the community,
•allowing agency name to be used for advertisement and branding,
•triple driving-under-the-influence fines by the court,
•resident fee similar to a utility tax,
•tax or fee on all alcohol sold in the city,
•tax or fee on all ammunition sold in, the city,
•public safety fees on all new development in the city,
•9-1-1 fee per use,
•police department website with business advertisement for support,
•selling ride-a-longs to the public, and
•police department–run firearm safety classes.
To fulfill responsibilities to the public, law enforcement must prepare for the worst while hoping for the best. These recommended steps concentrate on the most likely trend of increased financial strain:
•Law enforcement executives must evaluate their agencies’ financial situation to determine the necessity of developing new revenue streams. While all cities will have certain factors in common, many characteristics will be different and call for a different level of need for new revenue sources. This evaluation should be ongoing as most financial situations develop rapidly. Executives should seek to identify the overall economic trend and its projected impact on the department. This assessment will determine the extent of resources and the need for the development of new revenue streams.
•Once the executive staff of an agency has determined that new revenue streams are necessary, they must commit and communicate. Much of this responsibility rests with the chief of the agency. Because this project is outside of the mainstream duties of law enforcement, the chief must communicate the vision and the necessity of success in this endeavor. The level of commitment displayed by command staff will in great part determine the success of the new endeavor.
•Agencies should involve many people in the process of generating ideas for new revenue streams. This recommendation is very important because the more people who are involved, the more likely an agency is to find the ideas that will work best in its jurisdiction. The solicitation of ideas should extend past department personnel and include the remainder of the city and community members.
•Agencies should establish a broad-based committee to evaluate new revenue stream ideas. This committee should be charged with evaluating each idea’s profit potential and determining if the strengths and weaknesses of the department could support a successful implementation. Most importantly, the committee must assess if the idea falls within the standards of the department, the city, and the general law enforcement community.
•Once one or more revenue-generating ideas are chosen, the agency must spend the time and resources necessary to develop strategic implementation plans. This background work will greatly increase the agency’s chance of success. The department also should focus on goal establishment and evaluation methodology.
•A critical part of implementation is the development of project support. Determine the stakeholders and actively build their commitment level. Lack of political support can sabotage even the most viable project.
Links:
http://policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display&article_id=2108&issue_id=62010
http://revoltoftheplebs.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/pay-per-cop/