Submitted by Guest (not verified) on Wed, 09/15/2010 - 12:44am.
"...officers are doing all they can."
He can't be serious. Apparently most, if not all, of the officers downtown standing in a circle and talking to each other (another poster hit on this)is all they can do. And if that's not enough, when calling 911 to report a fight, that's if the operator answers in a reasonable time (sometimes 10+ rings, and a whole different story), most times the responding officers couldn't show any less sense of urgency as they slowly walk from their "hangout" on Market St.
Most fights are broken up after it's too late and rarely any arrests ever made. Most offenders are sent to leave in different directions, without punishment. How about officers at least issuing citations? How about that for funding? Aren't there such charges as drunk in public and disturbing the peace?
Oh yeah, I now remember officers saying on more than one occasion that they don't want to do the paperwork.
I believe there are plenty of police officers downtown. Officers just need to spread out. There are some trouble areas where officers may walk by as little as three times over a four hour period, only to return to their Market St. post. Now, if that doesn't stop crime I don't know what will.
I've always been a firm believer that over a dozen officers spread out over the downtown bars area is more effective than that same dozen standing in a circle. Call me stupid. To me, I think the average joe is a lot less likely to act up in the presence of one officer than knowing that several are two blocks away. The officers will say they like to act in numbers. Well, maybe that's because by the time the officers get to the scene it's already escalated past the point that only one officer could have already easliy prevented.
My credentials... I've worked in the Wilmington bar industry for several years and have seen this first hand on too many occasions.
It's time WPD starts cracking down on the drunken idiots and begins tightly enforcing laws. Enough of the "not enough officers" excuse!
SPREAD OUT!
...as my parents would say, "go make yourself useful!"
Give me a break!
"...officers are doing all they can."
He can't be serious. Apparently most, if not all, of the officers downtown standing in a circle and talking to each other (another poster hit on this)is all they can do. And if that's not enough, when calling 911 to report a fight, that's if the operator answers in a reasonable time (sometimes 10+ rings, and a whole different story), most times the responding officers couldn't show any less sense of urgency as they slowly walk from their "hangout" on Market St.
Most fights are broken up after it's too late and rarely any arrests ever made. Most offenders are sent to leave in different directions, without punishment. How about officers at least issuing citations? How about that for funding? Aren't there such charges as drunk in public and disturbing the peace?
Oh yeah, I now remember officers saying on more than one occasion that they don't want to do the paperwork.
I believe there are plenty of police officers downtown. Officers just need to spread out. There are some trouble areas where officers may walk by as little as three times over a four hour period, only to return to their Market St. post. Now, if that doesn't stop crime I don't know what will.
I've always been a firm believer that over a dozen officers spread out over the downtown bars area is more effective than that same dozen standing in a circle. Call me stupid. To me, I think the average joe is a lot less likely to act up in the presence of one officer than knowing that several are two blocks away. The officers will say they like to act in numbers. Well, maybe that's because by the time the officers get to the scene it's already escalated past the point that only one officer could have already easliy prevented.
My credentials... I've worked in the Wilmington bar industry for several years and have seen this first hand on too many occasions.
It's time WPD starts cracking down on the drunken idiots and begins tightly enforcing laws. Enough of the "not enough officers" excuse!
SPREAD OUT!
...as my parents would say, "go make yourself useful!"