Our
City leaders routinely
attempt to excuse their
failure to provide for
the safety and well
being of their citizens
on the fact that
Cleveland is the 4th
poorest city in the
country, and therefore
they simply
cannot afford to. What
they do not want the
average Clevelander to
understand, is the fact
that those figures are
based on the per capita
income of the residents
of Cleveland. ($24,000
per year) Our general
fund budget, which funds
the Police Department,
is based on the income
of not only our
residents working in
Cleveland, but also the
400,000 plus workforce
that commutes to
Cleveland every day to
earn a living. The
reality is that the
average income of all
those who work in
Cleveland is nearly
$39,000 per year, which
places Cleveland firmly
at 17th in the Nation.
Simply put, the problems
in Cleveland are being
caused by a lack of
priorities, not
finances.
A Cleveland Police
Officers’ wage package
is approximately $75,000
per year including
benefits. Total cost
per year for 300
additional Officers is
$23.1 million. Our
proposed income tax
increase will raise
$31.2 million per year.
The .25% income tax
increase we propose will
cost the average
Cleveland resident $1.15
per week ($60 per year)
and the average
Cleveland worker $1.87
per week ($97.24 per
year.) After the
Police Officers have
been hired, there would
be roughly an $8.1
million excess per
year. We propose this
money to be earmarked as
follows;
- $1.25 million per
year to the Aviation
Unit to enable 24 hour
per day, 7 day per week
operation of our
helicopters. The
helicopters save Police,
citizen and suspect
lives. They also
protect the city and our
Officers from potential
civil liability
sometimes associated
with Police work.
- $750,000 per year
to re-establish and
operate a viable well
equipped Ports and
Harbor / Rescue Diver
Unit. Currently we have
23 miles of un-patrolled
coastline bordering a
foreign country. We
have over 6 miles of
un-patrolled river, an
international port, an
un-protected water
source, power stations,
Browns Stadium, Tower
City, airport, and last
but not least, the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame
which literally hangs
out over the water.
Incidentally, the Rock
Hall is thought to be
Cleveland’s most
vulnerable and high
value terrorist target
due to the symbolism it
represents. The
combination of a 24/7
Aviation Unit and a
Harbor Unit patrolling
our waterways in tandem
would go a long way in
protecting our city.
- $2.1 million per
year to establish,
maintain, and operate
“Chicago Style”
surveillance camera pods
and Zone Car cameras to
assist, not replace law
enforcement Officers.
- $750,000 per year
to finance new crime
stoppers programs to
assist in the
apprehension,
prosecution, and
conviction of
criminals. This would
undoubtedly increase our
currently declining
solvability rates.
- $750,000 per year
for Police Youth Cadet
and Auxiliary Police
programs to assist in
local Police recruitment
and Community Policing
efforts.
- $2.5 million
per year to establish
and assist community /
neighborhood /
recreation center
programs to seek out,
train, and properly
equip community watch
groups, recreation
center personnel, to
assist Law Enforcement
Officers in protecting
our city, and providing
our children with
positive Police
interaction and
alternatives to crime.
Proposed
Assignment of 300
Additional Officers;
We believe that
re-establishing positive
communication and
interaction with our
grammar school aged
children is of vital
importance.
-The first 100 of
these Officers should be
immediately assigned to
“Community Policing type
Units.” Mini Stations
should be re-established
and should house
Community Police
Officers, Dare Unit /
School Officers, Bike
Unit Officers and the
Mounted Unit. These
very local mini stations
will reconnect the
Police Department with
the children and the
community in a positive
manner. This would
re-establish the
positive interaction
between the Police and
the community in a very
real way.
- The next 100 new
Officers should be used
to re-establish the
District Strike Force
Units, Aviation Unit,
Gang Unit, Fugitive
Unit, Ports and Harbor
Unit, and supplement the
Homicide Unit, the
Narcotics Unit, S.W.A.T.
Unit and District
Detective Bureaus.
- The last 100 new
Officers would be used
to supplement and
properly equip Basic
Patrol.
Along with these
recommendations, we
would also recommend the
reassignment of 80 of
120 Community Service
Officers to Basic
Patrol. This would
leave each District a 7
Officer Community
Service Unit to work
directly for the
District Commander in
whatever capacity
necessary. Providing an
additional 180 Police
Officers to Basic Patrol
will allow for faster
response times, greater
Police presence, greater
Officer (therefore
public) safety and will
also be conducive to
community policing
efforts. The theory
being that if there are
nearly 2 Police units
assigned to each “zone”
in the city, those
Officers will be much
more likely to be able
to remain in their
assigned zones and
therefore will be able
to establish
relationships with
residents, business
people and local
criminals alike.
Conclusion;
While
I realize and understand
that “another damn tax
increase” is going to
make people cringe, the
thought of sitting back
and watching our city
implode with crime,
without attempting to
realistically correct
the problems we face,
cannot be an option. Our
good, God fearing,
contributing citizens
are running for their
lives, and our
businesses are leaving
the city and not looking
back. Sitting back and
watching these trends
continue, should no
longer be an option for
any of us. Until we
have the Officers we
need to once again
become a proactive,
aggressive, community
style Police Department,
these unfortunate trends
will not reverse,
despite the Mayor and
his appointed command
staff rolling out
initiative after
meaningless initiative.
For example,
establishing a 6 Officer
“Gang Impact Squad”
makes for a great sound
bite during troubled
political times, but
will accomplish little
more than leaving a void
in the Districts and
Units that those
Officers originally came
from. Unfortunately our
elected and appointed
leaders have done scant
more than place
political Band-Aids on
the crime issues in
Cleveland that require
major surgery. If real
efforts are not made
by people willing to
step up and be
real leaders, Cleveland
is going to continue to
hemorrhage residents and
businesses to other
states, counties, and
suburbs, and we will be
left behind with
Detroit, except without
the gambling.
Our leaders could
pave Euclid Avenue with
gold bricks and build a
Medical Mart /
Convention Center out of
platinum, if people do
not feel safe while
living, working, or
playing in Cleveland,
they will not come
here. An investment of
less than $2.00 per
week from most of the
folks working in
Cleveland will rebuild
our decimated,
understaffed Police
Department, assist us in
protecting and reaching
our children, and go a
long way to retain and
attract residents and
businesses back to our
City. This City has
great potential, we must
take the necessary steps
to realize and nurture
that potential, not mock
it by ignoring the
issues at hand and how
to realistically correct
them.
Sincerely,
Stephen S. Loomis,
President
Cleveland Police
Patrolmen’s Association
