Tell The Board of Supervisors….“No More Budget Cuts to Public Safety!”

With the County’s leadership continuing to struggle with balancing the budget and new reports of disastrous cuts to the Sheriff's Department, we need your help once more in reminding County Leaders that public safety is the number-one priority of residents and should be theirs as well. It is their obligation as government leaders to provide for the safety of each and every one of the citizens in the county.

Please contact your Board of Supervisor and tell County leaders that we cannot afford – either financially or in human costs – additional cuts to the public safety budget.

Budget cuts to sheriff and police departments are starting to result in increased crime numbers. Recently New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg linked an unexpected 20% spike in homicides to having fewer police on the streets, backtracking on a December announcement touting the city’s success in decreasing crime with fewer resources.

Additionally, Sheriff John McGinness stated in an April 27, 2010 press release,

"...While suffering through a fiscal crisis that has seen a reduction in the number of patrol deputies and detectives on the streets; as well as the elimination of the Sheriff’s Helicopter Squadron, High Impact Motor Unit, Problem Oriented Policing (POP) Units, Street Level Narcotics Units, and the folding of former stand-alone K-9 and SWAT units into patrol, the department has seen a spike in violent crime and a dramatic reduction in the number of proactive arrests made by its deputies. According to Sheriff John McGinness, “Our patrol deputies no longer have the free time to dedicate to proactively looking for bad guys. They are too busy running from one 911 call for service to the next..."

Public safety is not accidental…it takes careful planning, dedication from hard working men and women and the right resources…its an Investment.

A RAND Corporation study released in mid-March 2010 confirms that public safety is an investment that pays huge financial and social dividends. The study, which centered around the Los Angeles Police Department, shows that the $125-150 million cost of expanding the Los Angeles Police Department has actually generated about $475 million annually in crime reduction benefits. Click here to read the Rand Report.

This is critical information for County leaders to consider as they try to avoid both economic and social harm in balancing the County budget.

You must let County leaders know that they cannot make additional cuts to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department without great peril to the safety and security of the County’s one million residents, and that investing in public safety is the smart strategy for both our short-term goals and prosperous future.

Thank you for partnering with us to keep your family, children and neighborhoods safe.

Please visit http://www.servicewithconcern.com for more information.


Sincerely,

SACRAMENTO COUNTY DEPUTY
SHERIFFS’ ASSOCIATION

/s/ Kevin Mickelson
President