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Vice Mayor Greg Stanton's
Arcadia News Column
March 2003
Budget must reflect public safety priority
Phoenix is fortunate to have one of the best police departments in the country. The 3,800 women and men who serve our community are consistently professional and passionate about making our community safer. As a member of the City Council Public Safety Subcommittee, I am fortunate to work closely with our officers. Their commitment to community safety is appreciated now more than ever due to the increasing demands of homeland security and rising property crime rates. Protection of public safety is essential, even as we face difficult budget decisions at the city.
The challenge of homeland security places an additional burden on our local police force. Due to Security Directive 1542-01-07F, issued by the Federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in May 2002, the city of Phoenix must provide law officers at each of the security checkpoints at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, which were previously staffed by the National Guard. In response to this directive, the city will provide 39 Phoenix police officers to the airport to handle these security responsibilities.
While we fulfill our responsibility to ensure Sky Harbor airport is as safe as possible, we must not compromise the safety of our citizens by reducing the number of police officers on our streets. We cannot afford to lose the 39 officers who are serving our community.
When I hosted the recent budget hearings in our district, I heard loud and clear that protecting our public safety was the top issue of concern. We must ensure that neighborhoods are safe day in and day out in addition to addressing the increased homeland security responsibilities. All crime needs to be aggressively combated, including property crime, graffiti and vandalism. If we do not fight crime at its core, more serious crimes are inevitable.
The city manager's initial budget proposal did not include replacing the 39 police officer positions that were moved to the airport. As a member of the Public Safety Subcommittee, I am committed to protecting all police officer positions. Our city budget should include funds to replace those transferred officers. Thank you to all neighbors who attended our community budget hearings to voice their thoughts about our city. I am confident that because of your involvement, our budget will be both fiscally responsible and protect the safety of our residents.
Update on public safety initiative
In July 2002 the City Council approved funds for the installation of flexible fuel bladder tanks on the city's Crown Victoria fleet. The bladders will provide a greater level of safety for our officers involved in high-speed, rear-end collisions while operating the Crown Victoria vehicles. This decision was a reflection of our community's priority of providing the highest level of safety possible to our police officers.
I'm proud to say that, as of Jan. 25, 2003, the modification of 675 vehicles (100 percent of the entire fleet) is complete, and currently 140 new cars are having the bladders installed. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Jake Jacobsen, president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, for his leadership on this critical issue and to Mark Leonard, director of the Public Works Department, for ensuring the swift installation of these bladders.
As always, if you have comments or questions, please feel free to call me anytime at at 602-262-7491 or send e-mail to greg.stanton@phoenix.gov.
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