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Post by abbd on Aug 25, 2006 8:04:46 GMT -6
Maybe joey will do like that guy in "the wire" on HBO did and just re-name parts of lafayette as "Amsterdam". Put all the crack heads and dopers in a few areas and let them run wild sell drugs to whoever and never arrest them. That way we'd have no crime problem as far as arrest records would indicate. Now that would be innovative. Watch for jabba proposing that soon. Coming soon to a neighborhood near you.... Amsterdam. BTW, we must NOT have a drug probelm here in Lafayette, cuz the birdcage liner never reports any drug arrests in laf, just the surrounding parishes. hmmmm maybe "Amsterdam" is already here?
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Cajunguy
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Duhhh, who's got the boudin?
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Post by Cajunguy on Aug 25, 2006 8:16:36 GMT -6
. . . cuz the birdcage liner never reports any drug arrests in laf, just the surrounding parishes. hmmmm maybe "Amsterdam" is already here? Is it a coincidence that all the drug arrests on I-10 that we hear about on the news are made in other parishes east and/or west of us, and NOT in Lafayette Parish? Hmmmmm, wonder if that has anything to do with our DA's office. Oooops, was I thinking out loud again? .
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Post by zoe10850 on Aug 25, 2006 13:49:12 GMT -6
I wonder as well cajunguy. The only saving grace for our DA is that Acadia is his responsibility also. That leaves a question about the quality of law enforcement doesn't it ? Why is it that Lafayette is the only parish where the sheriff is worried about crap like the certification bs, but not actually doing his job.
That is the problem when we elect a "teacher". "Those that can, do, those that can't,teach".
Exactly how much are the citizens of Lafayette paying for all these certifications to these groups ? If you have to pay for it, it is not worth it. Certification should be awarded based upon merit, not on paying some group of yahoo's to make a bunch of deputies jump through hoops to make Dr Neustrom look like he is doing something. What is being done to address increasing crime in Lafayette by our chief law enforcement officer ?
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Post by Taureau on Aug 25, 2006 14:36:43 GMT -6
Zoe, You posted:What is being done to address increasing crime in Lafayette by our chief law enforcement officer ?
How about....not reporting crime? Or maybe we can be creative like the New Orleans police did several years back; when a victim from gunshot would later die (not at the scene of the crime) the death would be ruled as died from medical complications, maybe even lead poisoning.
Seriously, My neighbor, was burglarized (his house) during the day and it was not reported in the news. Why is that? Is there a certain money amount that needs to be met before it is reported? Crime is crime, no matter what the cost of the lost or the amount stolen.
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Post by str8up50 on Aug 25, 2006 21:15:15 GMT -6
What the hell is going on in Lafayette the increase of violent crimes. Just this week I have seen more narcotics arrest and weapons poss. than in the past. Durel and the admin. best step up to the plate and realize there is a problem and it needs to be dealt with.
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Post by coolboy on Aug 26, 2006 0:21:05 GMT -6
Why is it that Lafayette is the only parish where the sheriff is worried about crap like the certification bs, but not actually doing his job. That certification doesn't even mean anything. It is completely voluntary. Not saying that is a bad thing, but it certainly isn't official. It's probably just a way to show everyone "Looka what we got!"
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quest
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Post by quest on Aug 26, 2006 11:10:35 GMT -6
I remember a news story a while back about so many of the marked units being out for repair. I thought the officers were allowed to take their units home so that they would take better care of them. At least that was the story when the policy was changed. I remember when we drove our cars to the pool and picked up units for the shift. Yet, the officers take cars home and the units are in no better shape. And I see a LPD officer lives in Iberia Parish off of LA 88 and one lives in ST Martin Parish off Grande Anse road. Makes me wonder; just how many units travel home out of the parish every day? How much does that cost in gas?
And to purchase the entire fleet at one time is just stupid. But we should expect nothing less from this brilliant administration.
Why not buy a few Segways and put them in the streets. Watch the cops make friends with every kid in the neighborhood, watch people start talking to the cops and watch the cops cruise leisurely down the street at 10 MPH rather than zipping along at 40 and not seeing the criminals or the crimes.
Remember community oriented policing, I guess it was traded in for a new model, COMPSTAT or whatever.
The problem is the guys running the show can’t think their way out or a wet paper bag when it comes to the street crime problem in our city.
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Post by str8up50 on Aug 26, 2006 15:55:28 GMT -6
I dont think the problem was with the officers taking care of their assigned units. What I understand is that the Maintenance Facility where units are taken for minor repairs was lacking in sufficient personnel. I know of one officer who had to send his unit, per SOP, to maintenance so that a new inspection sticker could be affixed. The unit was out for over 4 days for that reason. After speaking to several officers, it seems there gripe is with maintenance as they do not have enough employees causing units to stack up for minor work orders. I know LCG did change their policy for new hires as they can not take LCG vehicles out of the parish, unless they are on call for a particular reason. It seems that in the past, that was one of the recruiting tools by allowing take home units regardless of where the officer lives. To my understanding the only officers that are allowed a permanently assigned take home unit are members of the SWAT team, as they have a 30 minute response time to a situation.
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quest
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Post by quest on Aug 27, 2006 7:41:03 GMT -6
SO....
If you have a member of a SWAT team that is allowed to take a unit home and they require a 30 minute response time and the officer lives 30 minutes away....
The point I was trying to make was that allowing an officer or deputy to take a unit home is nothing more than a perk, pure and simple and it does cause additional wear and tear on the unit.
I have heard that a Sheriff Department south of Baton Rouge began charging their deputies $100 a month for the privilege of taking units home. They all bitched and whined and griped but they all realize the value of not having to drive their own car back and worth, wear and tear, gas, etc.
They all anted up. Maybe this thread is not the place, additionally, I do not think the policy was changed, the offices are still allowed to take units home.
And for an officer to park his unit for 4 days for an expired brake tag is the most ridiculous thing I have heard. Be real, who is going to write the ticket, a fellow officer?
It would appear that maybe there is a personnel problem and a scheduling problem and policy problem. Is the officer going to park a unit for 4 days to get the air pressure checked in a tire? If the units are maintained, and one would like to presume that they are, the officer could pull into ANY state inspection station and get a new tag in under 5 minutes. For the city to require that little things like be done at maintenance is just plain stupid.
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Post by zoe10850 on Aug 27, 2006 14:54:53 GMT -6
The problem is the idiocy of civil service. No one can or will make a decision that violates a SOP. An inspection sticker. Those are a joke anyway. Why does the state even issue them ? That only means that on that one day, the car was servicable for use on the streets. Is more of a money making device for inspection stations;headlights, brake lights, wiper blades etc. easy money stuff.
And of course there is a pesonnel shortage. Who wants to admit they work for LCG ? I would not.
And as to the issue of community policing; was intended to put police back into neighborhoods, not to race by in a/c units. There still is no true community policing. Look at New Orleans, once a very safe city, and they had neighborhood police officers then. No longer; and many are afraid to get out of their cars now, sorta like Lafayette huh!!
And Coolboy, they will get an additional sticker to place on the patrol units. When they slow down, you can see them.
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Post by str8up50 on Aug 27, 2006 20:54:35 GMT -6
Unfortunately an officer with LCG can not pull into any private station to get an inspection sticker. You have to understand that if LPD get lets say 5000 dllrs for fleet maintenance and pays the Maintenance Division for work, all the money goes back to the general fund. So technically it is just a paper trail mirage, a way of tracking how much each department utilizes the maintenace division. To think that LCG would demolish the maintenance division and contract out, then they would actually have to spend money and not be able to keep it.
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Post by str8up50 on Aug 27, 2006 21:01:14 GMT -6
In response the the community policing idea, it is a joke in Lafayette. However you must first have knowledge of the amount of calls for service thru 911 and break that down with the amount of officers that actually work on the road during a normal shift. Like most cities, politicians turn their cheek when confronted with real numbers that effect public safety.
When the renaming of a street is a hot topic than compared to the shortage of public safety personnel, just proves my point.
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Post by ronnief on Aug 28, 2006 18:23:23 GMT -6
I was under the impression that the state licensed stations to issue inspection stickers, and anyone with a proper registration/insurance could present their car for approval. If one has a fleet inspection station, that fleet station may only inspect cars that are in that fleet. I do not believe that precludes a fleet car from going elsewhere; unless of course the LCG does not provide insurance info etc.
And str8up50, you are very correct, community policing in Lafayette is a joke. There is no real reason for police to sit in their units rather than walk a beat and meet the people. A lot could be accomplished.
I had the opportunity to tour the E911 center years ago. I observed the computer print showing "calls" and noted to the assistant director that a lot of the numbers seemed to be the same. I was informed that the 911 center calls its own numbers to "check" that they are working every hour. So, if 1000 calls are "received" it is entirely possible that 600 are self generated.
E911 is a sore spot with me anyway. I believe the money should be given to the sheriff who (like Jefferson Parish, St Martin Parish among others) should be required to respond or delegate. I have never seen the logic of calling a center, explaining the problem, then being routed to another agency to re-describe the problem. That clearly does not save time. And why on earth would E911 be in charge of civil defense ? They have NO staff to respond to anything. This is how bureaucracies start, grow, and self serve, all the time wasting taxpayer dollars. E911 has a director, two assistant directors, all who work 8 to 5, and have vehicles. Does this make any sense ? And Acadian Ambulance sits on their board (a private company). This should be changed.
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Post by abbd on Sept 2, 2006 9:55:21 GMT -6
I noticed this morning that the daily bird cage liner is trying to "spin" the crime stats. Crime under control? ? What the heck does that mean? Under control? What, it's somewhat safe to go shopping now??? Just because the population increases does NOT mean the crime percentages should rise. What a bunch of bozos. Crime is up dramatically and the police depts own spokesman said so himself last week. Guess the joey news service is coming out in force. We elected that bozo to protect us and solve real city problems(crime,traffic congestion, drainage etc.) and all that bozo has been doing is trying to ram a fiber project(that's actually against the law per the courts) down our throats. Somebody some where please run against this guy.
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Post by str8up50 on Sept 2, 2006 13:12:58 GMT -6
Abbd I totally agree with your post. Seems that for some reason the Advertiser felt neccesary to print this article, in hopes that it would down play some of the most recent headlines in the past week (Murder at the Mall, Drive By Shooting, Home Burglaries).
I was amazed at the total number of stats that compare Jan-March from this year to last year. Seems that new COMSTAT program is not working. Hundley pushed for this program, stating that it would allow the department to efficiently use officers during peak times. By the looks of if, it aint working.
So in hind sight LPD is still at the same point this year as it was last year, but with a higher number of violent crimes. I guess when LPD is having staffing issues and internal issues, the problem with crime will only escalate.
I always find it ironic on when an article is written or reported by a local new media agency, they always speak to a representative of the department who works M-F 8-5. How about talking to the actual people who work the street...the police officer.
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Post by abbd on Sept 2, 2006 13:44:47 GMT -6
Str8, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't COMSTAT(computer statistics) nothing but a glorified(computerized) "pin map" to show where crimes have occured? I believe it's been around for a while and has been used with varying degrees of success by a few police departments. The only policeman who seems to set the record staright is that corporal,who seems to "tell it like it really is". Not sure how he keeps that position, but I believe joey had him moved out of that job before, when he "broke" the hundley story. We got problems in this community and the bird cage liner ain't telling the whole story. I guess they feel like "if we do't know about it, it really never happened". So sad so really sad to have such a lack of facts in this community.
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Post by zoe10850 on Sept 4, 2006 10:53:54 GMT -6
Well str8up50, would be great to hear from the fellas on the street, but as I know you already know, they would be fired on the spot. Remember the "March massacre" when Sheriff Dr Mike Neustrom fired 29 deputies, several who had 30+ years of service ? Message was, do not open your mouth. (see Clerk of Court). Fact is, these guys do not belong in a position of public trust because the public cannot trust them.
And abbd, the under control refers to the fact that the stats are up to date, not that anything is being done about it. Sunday Times Picayune, full page ad by Sheriff Harry Lee : "Murder in Jefferson Parish is up 70%, and I am tired of young African-Americans shooting each other on our streets". I am putting more people in hot spots as well as meeting with community leaders, preachers etc. to see what they can do to help. I will not tolerate this. That is what a real sheriff does. Address the issue head on, and say what is being done. Where is ours ?
As for corporal francis whatever, he is a paid mouthpiece, just like trooper willie williams, or Lt Craig Stansbury. They only know what they are told to say, which is generally less than we really want to know. I have heard more eloquent butts.
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Post by abbd on Sept 9, 2006 8:59:28 GMT -6
Was on my way home late the other afternoon and couldn't help but notice as I passed one of those "stop and rob" stores and noticed about 6 or 7 scruffy looking characters hanging around the parking lot drinking beer. Now I sure wouldn't want my kids having to buy gas at one of these "hang outs". Thought we had loitering laws in this city? I guess we too busy catching litterers and people smoking in restuarants to stop something like this. I told my wife we are starting to look more and more like New Orleans every day. Dunce is getting his wish, we getting more and more "big city like" every day. Sad but true.
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Post by TBEAR on Sept 10, 2006 16:02:56 GMT -6
Yeah thats the real shame, you hear everything about how our population increased with new people moving into the area and the housing boom, etc, but I guess they figure you dont need more law enforcement officers for the increased population, that whats already in place can handle it. These idiots keep making bs laws and whos going to enforce them, jabba?
I spoke to a city detective the other day and he told me he gets assigned about 38 felony investigations a month, they dont even assign misdemeanors, the increase in criminal activity is almost two fold according to him since the hurricanes, with all the new criminals, and the old ones, causing problems. Just think of that 38 investigations, thats more than one a day, so how can he do a thorough investigation on a case for a victim.
These administrators live in a dream world of long ago which I like to call the ozzy and harriet syndrome.
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Post by zoe10850 on Sept 10, 2006 23:13:06 GMT -6
Well abbd, there was a letter to editor in Sunday Picayune addressing that same issue. Was from a minority businessman who said it was past time for the police to quit tolerating people who loiter, drive around playing extremely loud music, and wearing their pants below their butts. He seemed to think the majority of blacks in the city would support such efforts. Hmmm, how about that ? Houston now has groups who want FEMA to quit giving benefits to "stranded " evacuees so that maybe they will go home. Claim their crime rate, already high, was worsened by the influx of refugees who do not work.
The problem is that resources are not properly allocated. We have over 225 city officers and a police budget of $18,000,000, but only 60 in patrol, 12 in detectives that actually work cases. That is a lot of support staff, and I do not see Craft addressing that. In fact, he is a part of the problem.
Our Sheriff wants a tax for his office to build a jail. Well, that is the responsibility of the parish govt, not the Sheriff. Truth of the matter is he does not have any money to run his office, and now eliminates programs such as DARE, but has money to hire his ULL buddies. Again, bad allocation of resources. And yes, a new jail is needed, but the parish needs to address that issue.
The state managed to fund HUNDREDS of commercials statewide at a cost of approx $1 million to scare drinking drivers, but cannot find resources for helping patrol New Orleans, which is short staffed. Who made the money on the commercials ? I am sure they do not also do political campaigns. Again, priorities.
We have elected a group of leaders with absolutely NO EXPERIENCE in their jobs, to handle millions of taxpayer dollars, with nary a clue how to accomplish their mission. Our tax assessor sold insurance before, our clerk of court was a waiter and also worked for a congressman assisting people with social security problems, our sheriff a school teacher at ULL, our mayor sold pets in a store that his dad started, Jabba worked with the media; Point being that they all must learn on the job, on our nickel.
How do you address crime when you have never worked in law enforcement ? The answer seems to be hire your friends, help them obtain a retirement, and hope that no one notices that you are not doing what you were elected to do. Distract the public, they have short term memories and do not vote.
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