Cops Oppose Cuts to Safety in Chula Vista
01.17.09 -- During Tuesday's meeting the Chula Vista City Council acted to cut canine officers from the Police Department, along with several drug and gang officers. Now Chula Vista Police Officers say these cuts were premature and unnecessary, and the safety of the community has been put at greater risk.
"We were already the most understaffed and under funded police department in the region," said Fred Rowbotham, President of the Chula Vista Police Officers' Association. In comparison with other governments in the county, Chula Vista has the smallest per-capita police force (one-third lower than the county average and less than half of the national average) and allocates the smallest budget per citizen to police services. "In a time when crime is expected to rise, the City Council has cut even deeper into public safety by slashing the canine program and gang and drug enforcement programs. These are some of the most important programs for our department, and will directly effect the safety of our community," Rowbotham said.
"Cutting these programs has effectively ended our ability to directly combat the most dangerous persons impacting our community: specifically gangs, drugs, and other dangerous persons," said Phil Collum, a Director for the Chula Vista Police Officers' Association. "It is especially irresponsible to cut these officers given the frightening events occurring a few miles south of us and the increases in crime poised to impact our community and has already been observed by our officers." Mexico has experienced soaring homicide rates during an intense war between drug cartels. More than 5,300 died in drug violence in 2008.
Chula Vista officers have said that the loss of the canine program directly puts the safety of their officers and the greater community at risk. "When confronted with an armed person or dangerous situation, deploying a canine helps protect the safety of the officer and even that of the suspect. We stand a much greater chance of getting into violent confrontations if we need to send armed officers into dangerous situations because we don't have any canine officers," Collum said. "By cutting this program the City Council has stripped our officers of a vital tool that helps resolve violent confrontations without resorting to deadly force." The Police Officers' Association has said that depleting personnel resources below the existing level will cause a greater potential for job related injuries and additional risk of liability to the City. "This will further open the floodgates of liability claims against the City and our officer," Collum said.
Jim Sandoval, Chula Vista's City Manager, said that the city's plan to cut services is contingent on the city's projected expenses. These expenses include projected raises from all of the city's employee union organizations. "The plan itself is flexible... I hope and believe that the remaining unions will follow suit [to defer salary increases]; That we can reach agreement, and we will be able to restore more programs for the community," Sandoval said during Tuesday's council meeting.
Chula Vista Officers say that imposing cuts to critical safety services should only be taken as a last resort. "The Chula Vista Police Officers' Association has been in negotiations with the city, and those negotiations are ongoing. The programs the city council has cut are absolutely critical to maintaining public safety. It is premature to start cutting such critical services before negotiations have been completed. If the City is able to come to agreement with the Police Officers' Association and others, these and other cuts may not even been necessary," Rowbotham said.
The Chula Vista Police Officers' Association continues to work toward equitable solutions to help save money and positions throughout the community. "In the meantime the Mayor and Council have asked for input regarding their actions. We encourage our community to contact Mayor Cox and our Council members today and let them know where you stand on crime, safety, and on funding for public safety in Chula Vista," Collum said.
Community members are encouraged to contact their City Mayor and Council. Write a letter to the Chula Vista Mayor and Council Offices at 276 Fourth Avenue, Chula Vista CA 91910. Or send an email to Mayor Cheryl Cox (cherylcox@chulavistaca.gov), Councilmember Pamela Bensoussan (pamelabensoussan@chulavistaca.gov), Councilmember Steve Castaneda (stevecastaneda@chulavistaca.gov), Councilmember John McCann (johnmccann@chulavistaca.gov), and Councilmember Rudy Ramirez (rudyramirez@chulavistaca.gov).
