EDITORIAL: THE NEXT GENERATION OF SJPD ROOKIES versus SENIOR OFFICERS.

THE NEXT GENERATION OF SJPD ROOKIES IS COMING IN WITH PEPPER SPRAY, FLASHLIGHTS AND RADIO; THAT'S AS THE NUMBER OF SENIOR OFFICERS DWINDLES.

SEE THIS VIDEO FROM KTVU 2 NEWS:http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/crime-law/san-jose-community-service-officer-plan-triggers-c/ng5ch/

Now, Mayor Reed's agenda has impacted us to the point wherein the SJPD has begun training civilians to handle low-priority calls. This is unprecedented. The regular patrol force is already backlogged, running behind with high-priority calls. Adding rookies will not help the force, since new recruits cannot carry guns and require Field Training Officers to assist and protect them.

Just today, we heard that four more senior policers resigned from the force.

Traffic enforcement officers at one point were 50 officers strong, but now down to 9 officers on motorcycles.

Traffic enforcement officers are the ones that patrol around schools and follow drunk drivers on our streets, before these bad drivers cause accidents. The Mayor and City Council are not backfilling these enforcement positions.

Band-aid type solutions are not the solution to a city that's seriously bleeding. Your needs are already being "triaged": a process of wherein the police department is forced to determine more important things from amongst a large list of concerns that requires attention. Senior officers are tired, working over time and stressed out!

Folks… its time to wake up! We don't have enough patrol officers or training officers. But, at the rate we're going, this civilian force will become your regular police force.

Remember, even if they are unhappy, police and firefighters cannot go on labor strike. Instead, they just leave one by one.

What's happening here in San Jose is a major issue, relating to the nation's tenth largest city, third in the state. Once known as "America's Safest Big City," we have turned that completely upside down. The city council is at war with its own Police and Fire Department and doesn't realize that the "Capital of Silicon Valley" is in dire straits.

This report from KTVU Channel 2 and other networks is much appreciated; whereas it's a stark contrast to the Mercury News' editorial staff, which seems to be back-paging (if not silencing) these issues and endorsing politics-as-usual.

#BACKFILLING #SanJoseCA #POLICE #SJPD #SJPOA #ByTheNumbers #LawEnforcement #WillowGlen

http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/crime-law/san-jose-community-service-officer-plan-triggers-c/ng5ch/



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