I was attending a city council in April and the acting Police Chief got up to give a report to the council and public on the police department. He was pleased to report that the weather was getting warmer and residents should expect to see cops back outside walking around.
I couldn’t help but laugh. In the 10 years I’ve lived here, it’s extremely rare I see police anywhere but occassionally driving by in their cars. What I heard from the police chief is if it’s too cold, the officers won’t even bother walking around. I got a hat and gloves and walk around when it’s cold, why can’t they?
We need MORE police on the street and way less police indoors. Our police department is way too top heavy.
In 2005, Mr. Cammarano sponsored and helped pass an ordinance that changed the Police Department’s Table of Organization to add more personnel. On the surface, that sounds outstanding, but the details are what’s extremely disappointing. Ordinance DR-201 did the following:
- Added a new position (above Captain, but below Chief) called Inspector that would employ 3 people. This position would receive 14% higher base pay than the position of Captain.
- Increased the amount of Captains from 8 to 10
- Increased the amount of Sergeants from 25 to 29
- Keep police officers unchanged
Mr. Cammarano helped create more high paying police positions without addresses the city’s need for more police officers. Did you know our former police chief was making more money a year than the commissioner of the New York City Police Department?
The Table of Organization was established as follow:
Rank/Position – Number
Chief – 1
Inspector- 3
Captain- 10
Lieutenant - 17
Sergeant - 29
Police Officer - 127
Administrative Secretary - 1
So we have 60 supervisors for 127 police officers. WOW. That’s incredibly inefficient use of tax dollars. Let’s increase public safety by adding more officers and less supervisors.
