An organized sweep took 17 criminals off the street recently,
and that’s a strong and welcome signal from the Gilroy Police
Department which enlisted multiple law enforcement agencies to
assist in the street sweep.
1. Sweeps, parole checks, etc. are exactly the tactics necessary
An organized sweep took 17 criminals off the street recently, and that’s a strong and welcome signal from the Gilroy Police Department which enlisted multiple law enforcement agencies to assist in the street sweep.
Parole checks, unexpected visits, citywide sweeps and more intense patrols in targeted areas all send a message to the criminals. The GPD will have to sustain these efforts in order to keep a lid on the most serious explosion of violence in our city since the mid-90s.
2. Keeping police officers on the street should be a clear priority
Meanwhile, our City Council, in the midst of serious budget cuts must prioritize and deliver a clear message to City Administrator Tom Haglund that allows him to do his job with proper direction. Keeping enough police officers on the streets, especially during this time of escalating violence, is key to efforts aimed at keeping Gilroy from becoming like Salinas. In that neighboring city, gang violence is routine and expected to the point where it only elicits a collective shrug from the community unless the incident involves tragic consequences like an innocent child being killed.
In organizing the sweep, it’s clear that Police Chief Denise Turner understands the stakes and is ready and willing to take on the task. There is new energy in the police department despite the city’s difficult economic situation.
3. Specialty units will go away as the police endeavor to curb the budget
The Council’s support will be critical in maintaining that and in affirming the rank-and-file vote to give up most all special assignment units – the hostage negotiating unit, major accident investigation team, crime scene investigators, arson investigators and the department’s mounted and bike units – during this tough economic time. That makes a boatload of common sense to us, and it’s a statement from the officers that they understand where the focus needs to be.
The juxtaposition of tough economic times and increasingly arrogant street criminals makes reaching that conclusion obvious, perhaps, but sometimes union organizations bury their heads in the sand. Clearly not the case with GPD.
