CrossPistols wrote:
Flint had a mayor who wanted to hire more cops, but the Union had a fit, so the Mayor said fine we will make flint patrols one man cars, then the union/city counsel cried it was to dangerous. I looked at it this way... The State cops are single man cars, and so is the Genesee Co. who are located in flint.
I remember a city counsel woman telling the audience that she saw a cop writting a ticket for an abandone car, she said that he looked scared & he shouldn't have been in that area alone. If that were the case then he should have asked for help, or stayed in his car, or maybe he should have stayed in school, or took a dish washing job. Either way Flint is a waste of time, it's corrupt, and controlled by greedy unions.
The Good Ole Boys Club is letting Flint become as Detroit.
I dont know if it has changed due to the budgets, but last I knew MSP paired up after dark and only ran 2 man cars during the night time hours. Genesee county unless something has changed only runs like 2 general patrol cars in genesee county, the rest are the paramedic deputies who spend most of their time taking medical calls rather than answering calls for service.. so its not that bad.
I worked in flint as a paramedic for a little over a year. Yes, its bad there, and bad things do happen, but if an officer uses some common sense, and is 110% aware of his surroundings and calls for backup as appropriate, then one man cars are a good idea. Laying off cops in a city with crime like it is really sucks for the people of flint...and for the other officers who remain on the job.
Unions have destroyed most jobs anymore... look at the big three.. the unions have jacked up labor and health care costs so high, the CEO of GM is more of a health insurance administrator than he is a CEO of a car company!
The same goes for public safety.. the unions have demanded so much in pay and benefits and when the budgets get cut or crunched, dont want to concede anything or very little. With that said, i believe that those in public safety should earn a respective living wage, given the job that we do.. but we should also know when to give a little back and to compromise.
On the flip side of that.. municipalities should realize the LAST place they need to cut is public safety funding... but many times that is the FIRST place they look :banghead:
My thoughts and prayers are with them for sure!