This is what St. Petersburg is doing Specifically, CAL Team members will, starting October 1, respond to calls involving the following situations: Disorderly intoxication Drug overdose Intoxicated person Mental health crisis Suicide crisis Mental Health Transport Disorderly juvenile/truancy Disorderly Juvenile at Elementary Schools Panhandling Homeless complaints Neighborhood dispute Last year, St. Petersburg Police received nearly 13,000 calls for those kinds of situations. The move to have CALs take over the handling of those calls, freeing police officers to handle law enforcement duties they're specifically trained for, has the support of this region's police union, the Sun Coast Police Benevolent Association. https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/n...etersburg-announces--reimagining--of-policing
not to hijack the thread but since we are on the topic of Austin and police whats up with Austin becoming the homicide/murder capital per capita of the US?
If you're "not going to hijack a thread," at least use accurate information, because what you posted is both misleading and inaccurate. Austin doesn't have a high per capita murder rate. It has had a very large percentage increase of murders due to having 4 more murders in the city compared to the same period last year. Again, the very low number of murders that take place in Austin in a year resulted in the large percentage increase. Not only is Austin far from being the "homicide/murder capital per capita of the US," according to the FBI, Austin is one of the safest major cities in the entire country. Where do you get this stuff? Best Places to Live in Texas Moving to Texas? Here are best places to live in the Lone Star State. By Kevin Litwin On Friday, March 8, 2019 - 13:05 Austin With an official slogan of “Live Music Capital of the World," Austin has also adopted an unofficial slogan of “Keep Austin Weird” that refers to the eclectic, liberal lifestyles of many residents. Not only is the city the state capital, it also is home to the University of Texas. The FBI ranks Austin among the safest major cities in America and the city's robust economy is thriving, propelled by industries such as information technology, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. Best of all? Austin has a thriving entertainment industry and is known for it's widely popular street performers and hallmark events like Austin City Limits, which includes a music festival and creative space for creators across the entertainment industry. https://livability.com/tx/where-to-live-now/best-places-to-live-in-texas
Republicans reject the simple, long tested notion that an ounce of prevention equals a pound of cure.
Have you ever even talked to a cop about this? I’ve heard from more then one cop that police in large cities are completely overwhelmed with numerous tasks that would be better handled by others.
The city council is doing what they think the voters want. That’s what politicians do. They do what will keep them in office. If this turns out badly, and voters are impacted in a negative way, then I’m sure the voters will want the police to be funded once again. I have no idea how this is going to turn out, but this is how things work. Let’s see what happens.
I'm taking a wait-and-see stance on whether this decision by the Austin City Council ends up being a good move or not. I have mixed feelings about the council (and Mayor Adler) in general, so we'll see. That said, while Austin's crime rate has risen a little in 2020 compared to 2019, I am reasonably confident that Austin isn't going to become another Minneapolis or NYC in that regard. Police reform (and criminal justice system reform in its entirety) is going to be a multi-phase, comprehensive process. It's going to take time, it may be a bumpy road at times, there's going to be pushback from certain politicians and others with a vested interest in heavy-handed law enforcement, and there will be grifters and propagandists spreading their usual bullshit and FUD. No different from the discourse surrounding any other hot-button issue. This $150 million reduction in Austin is just one step. Law enforcement culture and hiring practices need to be looked at. Reducing the power of police unions and addressing qualified immunity (on a nationwide scale) will do even more long-term good to weed out the corrupt cops, get more good cops in the ranks, and increase accountability. But I think those are going to be much harder fights. There are definitely situations that are currently handled by the police that could be better handled by services that are optimized for a gentler touch. We also need fewer laws in general. I'm all for cutting wasteful spending or at least re-allocating the funds more intelligently, and that includes the police. (I'm not sure if APD was overfunded or not.) I just hope that the Austin City Council really thought this through, instead of rushing this decision for cheap political points. Basically if all this is implemented reasonably well, this will probably make the jobs of the police, prosecutors, etc. EASIER, and make the community feel SAFER. That's a big *if*, though. Also, this whole police thing has further exposed the hypocrisy of many Republicans that have expressed opposition to this. It's clear that for many of them, their so-called belief in "limited government" and "fiscal responsibility" is a load of crap. (It's been clear for a long time.) In reality, they are very much in favor of big spending and heavy authoritarian govt when it comes to things such as keeping them "other folk" away from the pretty neighborhoods...or creating the next-gen tanks, missiles and fighter jets. Also, those same Republicans had a very different (i.e. more negative) mindset towards the police during the covid-19 lockdowns in March and April. The worst thing about this whole police reform movement is the messaging. "Defund the police", despite being a very attention-grabbing slogan, is a terrible phrase that is needlessly divisive and unnecessarily stokes fear, confusion and apprehension. It also plays into the hands of bad actors that want to further stir the pot of FUD. I believe that with better messaging, a push for police reform would have much more widespread support from liberals and moderates/independents/libertarians...and may even have decent support among some conservatives (particularly those that aren't diehard Trump fans).
July 2020 marks five years since Paxton was indicted on felony securities fraud charges. He's still avoiding trial. He doesn't care about Texans or Coronavirus. He's already made that clear when he said basically the old can die for the future of their grandkids. He is the same one hell bent on not allowing absentee voting. He needs locked up with Trump. Their day will come soon enough.
How many countries have you been to? You might be amazed at the amount of countries who have far less crime per capita than the US and far less police. They put more money into social services programs and free healthcare. It's amazing how much crime goes down when people are helped instead of locked up. Mental illness untreated, poverty, and overworked and understaffed social workers are a big part of the problem.
Well said. That has all been reported multiple times from numerous respected sources of the media, yet is there any mention of it from the trump supporters here? Any condemnation? No. They ignore the truth and repeat the lies pumped out by the White House and the Republican Party, at both the state and national level.
This is true. This is going to be an experiment that will either prove to be a safer and more effective use of tax dollars or it won't, in which case things will reverse their course and people on this BBS can continue their gotchas over who was more correct than the other.
Just silliness or I suppose irrational fear. "the poor b*stard going out to a potentially violent callout armed with nothing but words".
Or tasks they are not suited for. E.g going out to see if they can if a mentally ill man needs to go to a psych hospital.
If your getting paid with tax dollars you shouldn’t be able to unionize and this isn’t about party affiliations.
