Paying for police protection
Well-off neighborhoods in Charlotte are hiring extra police protection, the Observer reports.
That raises some thorny issues.
Not that I would blame residents of those neighborhoods. If they don't feel safe, the have a right to take additional measures to increase their security. Individuals can install extra lights and burglar alarms, build walls topped by razor wire, bar their windows, acquire vicious dogs or arm themselves with an arsenal if that's what it takes.
Collectively, however, folks in those Charlotte neighborhoods have put together enough money to hire off-duty police officers to patrol their streets as a deterrent to crime.
Obviously they feel the regular service provided by the Charlotte-Meck PD isn't adequate. They can afford to pay for more.
If that's what they think, what about people in poorer neighborhoods where crime tends to be more prevalent? And those folks have less means to hire off-duty cops.
I wonder whether the police department would look at this turn of events as an opportunity to target its resources where they're needed the most. If Dilworth and other well-to-do residential areas hire additional officers on their own, can and should the department reassign on-duty officers from Dilworth to high-crime locations?
After all, if the off-duty cops help suppress crime in Dilworth, then Dilworth needs fewer on-duty officers. They ought to be sent somewhere else, right?
I doubt Dilworth residents would see it that way. Their goal is to rid their neighborhood of crime, and they're willing to pay a premium for better police protection -- not the same level of protection they had before.
Comments (4)
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For years Jamestown "outsourced" their police protection by paying for a Guilford County deputy to be assigned there. They paid for the car and provided some office space at the Fire Dept. They may still do this, I'm not sure.
Posted on April 14, 2008 9:50 PM
The people of Dilworth already pay their fair share of taxes. They deserve to receive their fair share of police services. If they wish to dig into their own pockets and hire extra security, that is their right and they should not be punished for doing so.
Taking away their regularly-scheduled police shifts would be wrong and unfair. Why should they be penalized for being successful and having the means to better their community?
Posted on April 15, 2008 9:23 AM
Affluent neighborhoods pay higher taxes but, because they generally have less crime, receive less police protection. Is that unfair?
Maybe one reason they have less crime is because homeowners invest in their own security systems. So, in addition to tax dollars they're paying privately, too. In those circumstances, I'd say it's natural for police to patrol less in such neighborhoods, deploying greater resources to neighborhoods where crime is higher.
Posted on April 15, 2008 10:34 AM
The citizens of Dilworth should receive the same amount of police protection that they did before sourcing additional coverage on their own. As someone mentioned previously, they already pay more in taxes than those in many other Charlotte communities so what little police protection they do have should not be diverted to areas of higher crime. As Doug already noted, those areas probably had more police coverage to begin with.
Posted on April 16, 2008 10:53 AM