*

*
Today at the Forum
Opinions from members of the Enquirer Editorial Board


David Wells,
Editorial Page Editor


Ray Cooklis,
Assistant Editorial Editor


Krista Ramsey,
Editorial Writer


Dennis Hetzel, General Manager,
Kentucky Enquirer/NKY.Com


Jim Borgman,
Editorial Cartoonist



Powered by Blogger

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Regional policing makes sense

The Northern Kentucky communities of Crescent Springs and Erlanger are edging closer to merging their police departments.

Even if there were no cost savings to taxpayers, the idea would be worth pursuing, because the combined department can deploy manpower more effectively. For example, Crescent Springs only has one patrol officer on duty about half the time. That's just not enough police power in this day and age. Policing also is more complicated these days. Ask any career law enforcement officer. Larger departments can handle those complexities more readily.

Not every consolidation of government service is a good idea, but an opportunity to consolidate policing or firefighting almost always is worth a look.

The alternative can be a parochial response to consolidation ideas, as we're seeing in Boone County where some fire departments resist even talking about taking cooperation to a new level. Four of the nine fire departments in Boone County (And do we really need nine?) aren't taking part in discussions. They are Burlington, Union, Verona and Belleview-McVille.

Then there's Southgate's fire department in Campbell County. Southgate desperately needs a new facility. As I noted in an earlier post, consolidation with a neighbor might not make much sense right now, but at least Southgate officials have been open and willing to talk about it.

Meanwhile, Crescent Springs and Erlanger are adding to Northern Kentucky's reputation as a place where parochial agendas can get set aside and things get done.


0 Comments:

Post a Comment*

* Our online blogs currently are hosted and operated by a third party, namely, Blogger.com. You are now leaving the Cincinnati.Com website and will be linked to Blogger.com's registration page. The Blogger.com site and its associated services are not controlled by Cincinnati.Com and different terms of use and privacy policy will apply to your use of the Blogger.com site and services.

By proceeding and/or registering with Blogger.com you agree and understand that Cincinnati.Com is not responsible for the Blogger.com site you are about to access or for any service you may use while on the Blogger.com site. << Home


Blogs
Jim Borgman
Today at the Forum
Paul Daugherty
Politics Extra
N. Ky. Politics
Pop culture review
Cincytainment
Who's News
Television
Roller Derby Diva
Art
CinStages Buzz....
The Foodie Report
cincyMOMS
Classical music
John Fay's Reds Insider
Bengals
High school sports
NCAA
UC Sports
CiN Weekly staff
Soundcheck