Thursday, July 19, 2012

Chief noncommittal on future of foot patrols

Springfield Police Chief Douglas Johnston said that he would continue having patrolmen walk the downtown beat as long as he had manpower to do it.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20120719/NEWS02/707199887

109 comments :

  1. I love the last little dig about the drug officer on the ballot being voted down. YA KNOW WHAT GUYS-you always have some excuse why your departments don't do their job. Again, I say do they really want anyone to believe that the one dedicated drug officer is really going to change everything and make springfield drug free? Then I guess we wont need the other officers who sit around and do nothing.
    Come on don't take everyone for an idiot..you wanted to charge the taxpayers 90 thousand dollars for that. Seriously???? You seem non-committal on just about anything that is going to call you on the carpet Chief...you won't comment on hours, staffing, positions,target plans, areas and you have an excuse WHY everything is not the police departments fault...huh wow you sound like the schools now! How about plain old patrols that stop and break up bands of youths, how about youth curfews, how about parking a car right on top of an area where people are gathering...I mean stop already with the excuses to get your 90k drug guy in here and actually get your guys out on the streets and let them know that guess what... they actually have to get out of their cars...and that includes the one you just bought the new cruiser for because his old cruiser didnt fit him anymore.

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    1. Could you post your auto license plate number? That way you can support your local police department in a financially meaningful way.

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    2. Does anyone remember the police kiosk downtown? I thought it was effective.

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    3. We don't need a drug officer, we need to have them reallocate the time being spent on radar traps to patrolling neighborhoods and increasing their visibility rather than hiding to catch speeders. The Selectboard could help by confiscating their radar guns. This is approaching the absurd.

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    4. A trooper, sheriffs and local police car working the four lane coming into town (sounds like a begining of a joke doesn't it). No joke all three were working the area of the jail yesterday afternoon when I went by. In the meantime the revolving door in union street I'm sure was doing business. So if you want to be safe build a house near the jail. Time for change. By the way, do you think the drug dealers in town have and listen to scanners? Just wondering.

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    5. John Fairfield7/19/12, 1:47 PM

      This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    6. I don't remember the police kiosk downtown, but I can tell you there are plenty of drug kiosks located in our downtown.

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  2. They have enough man power doing speed traps at 5:30am in the morning, two cruisers within two miles of one another. How about the man power with two cruisers sitting at the boat landing at 5:30am as well? How about the man power of the cruiser that I see more at a residences house than on the road, considering it's a special cruiser but it's always there.

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    1. I agree. The drug officers wind up doing very little except putting on horse and pony shows at the schools and other forums. We need our existing police officers including the Police Chief out on the street being visible and doing real investigative work like determining whether certain landlords are creating drug dens in this Town. We need the Town manager figuring out why we have NJ drug traffickers picking Springfield as a hometown and then doing something about it.

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    2. Bonnie Porter7/19/12, 1:52 PM

      What a bunch of dorks. You people don't get it. Cruising neighborhoods and walking the beat might result in arrest for crimes. Arresting potentially violent people is dangerous, and triggers alot of paperwork. Handing out traffic tickets and arresting people for parole violations is easy. The police aren't going to put in any effort to solving this problem.

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    3. Lol...when cops are reluctant to commit to breaking crime rings that normally means they are connected to the ring in some way ... why doesn't he just post a sign, cops for hire.

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    4. By his statements in this article Chief Johnston is basically saying, "dont worry drug dealers, you can have your downtown corners back when I run out of man power, which is going to happen soon, because my guys have vacations coming up, and i am already short staffed."

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    5. Bonnie Porter7/19/12, 2:49 PM

      This must be why the Town Board didn't call on him to speak or respond to the crowd at the meeting.

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    6. Here it comes, the cry for more police officers again! The chief was told no more men by the select board, now he has a staffing problem once again! Time to get a new police chief! One who is not going to say he or she can't do it and can run a department the way it should be. One who isn't there just for the money and perks like a take home patrol unit. Get someone from the outside too, the LT is just as bad as the chief.

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    7. Rofl...why don't they just have HCRS patrol Union Street since they are already familiar with all the characters. Maybe they could give them anger management courses right there on the sidewalk, etc.

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    8. Bonnie Porter7/19/12, 3:35 PM

      No they should have the Department of Corrections buy the drug dens on Union Street that way they could just tell the public it is an annex of the prison and they are not actually releasing NJ druggies into Springfield.

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    9. This thread is hilarious! If I didn't live here it would be even funnier. Surely an educated, experienced policeman would love to re-locate to Vermont. Wanted: leadership ability. Integrity. Dealing with select/school boards. Having hoodlums, derelicts and baddies see Jesus. Okay, or the Buddha.

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    10. Oh, you mean recruiting a new police chief? Perfect.

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    11. There are a few experienced policeman from out of state living in Springfield, I would love to hear from one of them as to their take on this whole situation. I'm sure they are laughing....

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  3. Is this why we are among the highest taxed towns in Vermont, so our town employees can tell us they can't do their job? I may be on vacation next year when my tax bill comes.

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    1. I'm tired of hearing we can't do it! Maybe it's time to do an outside evaluation of the police department. It might be cost effective to disband them and hire the sheriff's department to patrol the town. Then at least we will see patrol units in neighborhoods. I have not seen a patrol unit in my neighborhood for over two years. Oh that's right, they are protecting me from speeders, silly me!!!!!

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    3. Poster at 5:31 you know what? That was downright irresponsible and dangerous posting that and you put someone who may very well be innocent in danger and that is wrong.

      I know we have a problem on our hands with crime and drugs but the lynch mob has convicted someone without a trial. We have already shown the racial bias this town residents have shown throughout these blogs and I read at least one post whose poster claims to have seen the shooter and another poster who heard a disparaging remark from one of our local cops. You guys cant get out of your own way can you! All these facets only help the defense team. Think about that! I certainly hope the blog administrator removes the above post for safety reasons!

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  4. Just about everyone knows which house on union they live in already. Do not use the race card here.

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  5. Aethelred the Unready7/19/12, 6:42 PM

    Let's not let the fact that the Police Chief demonstrated his incompetence by opening his mouth in an interview distract us from the fact that this is the culmination of decades of Town Board's who have relied on non-profits to do the work that they should have been doing to improve this Town economically. The kind of non-action, non-commital that we saw demonstrated by the Selectboard at the last Selectboard meeting is why we are where we are. We continue to elect people to the Selectboard with all of the innovative and creative thinking of a walnut, and then we pronounce the fate of the community as inevitable. We can no longer afford to basically ignore the fundamental ineptness of the Selectboards we have had while we fight and argue about the school system.

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  6. I'm just curious, does anyone know how many police officers patrol the streets? How many per shift? Do we have enough police officers to patrol the town for the amount of calls that are received? I'm not looking for smart a@@ replies that there must be too many, just the facts if anyone knows them.

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  7. It depends on what you mean by patrol the streets. I believe there is always a minimum of 2 officers on duty. As the Chief said in the article, there are more staff on duty on the weekends.

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    1. I mean patrolling the streets...those who answer the calls when they come in. If there are only two officers on duty for a town of 9300 and almost 50 square miles (according to the census, that's a shame and needs to be addressed. Looking at their website there are supposed to be 12 officers in patrol. How can one complain, having seen the arrest reports and incident reports that the deparmtent posts, that there are too many officers? Seems like they are quite busy! Maybe it is time to have those discussions and do some studying to see if he is onto something with the staffing levels?

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    2. You can't trust the incident report numbers, an auto accident is counted a number of times differently, a traffic stop is also counted as a citizen contact, the one thing the chief learned was to jack up the numbers to make things look busier than they are.....
      That's why he won't give numbers out, someone might figure it out!

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    3. That's correct. The number of square miles a town encompasses has NOTHING to do with it. It's the number of RESIDENTS per square mile that is a factor. Claremont, NH has 30% less square miles than Springfield, VT but has 220% more people per square mile.

      Claremont PD does a great job at enforcing the law.....because they don't take any guff, are very well trained, are open to public scrutiny and are polite and VISIBLE to the citizenry.

      So let's stop talking about how many square miles SPD has to patrol.....trees don't commit crimes.

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    4. Just curious, are you saying that I should not have patrols near my house because I live in the "trees"? There are plenty of burglaries out here too. Looking online, Claremont also has 10 more officers than Springfield.

      Anonymous 10:43 I've never seen a citizen contact statistic posted..where are you getting this info I'd like to see it? Accusing anyone of cooking the books without proof is wrong in my book...just as much as cooking the books is wrong if it's happening.

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    5. Anonymous 11:19...wrote "plenty of burglaries out here too"....OK, where and when?

      Some of us read the newspapers. Am I to believe that this 'forest' crime wave has gone unreported?

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    6. The group of people that were arrested last year were almost exclusivly targeting "forest" areas...guess you can't read.

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    7. Aethelred the Unready7/20/12, 3:26 AM

      Its pretty much impossible to patrol the streets if you are sitting in a cruiser in a hidden speed trap position with your radar gun. The idea is to prevent crime, not necessarily to catch a lawbreaker. So if you are patrolling the streets whether on foot, bike or in a cruiser you want to be visible and unpredictable. If they want to bust druggies then they need to use out of town undercover agents from the State or FBI -- the main goal of the Town Police should be visible so they drive the drug dealing underground and out of sight. Then let the undercover agents from the State bust the serious dealers -- not the people with a couple joints or a lid. If the Springfield Police would just do that, and if the Selectboard would get off their duffs and start bring public nuisance suits against the landlords who are routinely harboring these guys then we could clean up the town. But its going to take both.

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    8. Aethelred you are just one of those loudmouth progressives always asking for more of this or more of that. Why don't you shut up -- don't need anymore progressives like you, we need real conservatives like this Ethan McNaughton and those that complained about the progressives on the Town Board. Don't tread on me brother!

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    9. Julian, do you write signs for the Tea Party or something for a living?

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  8. Here's what fries my bottom.....

    Jumping on I 91 and seeing SPRINGFIELD police cruisers running speed traps from the median strip!

    Let the State Police deal with the Interstate and GET THE HECK BACK INTO TOWN!!!!!!!

    Damn wannabe cowboys

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    1. How else are these guys going to pay for their pensions if they don't ticket speeders? I was on a trip in Northern California two years ago on a long and isolated stretch of road. There was almost no one on the road and yet as you approached each small town you got to observe several cop cars gunning for any poor soul that happened along. The cops would swoop in at high speeds and driving erratically. Talk about desperation for their salaries. It was like running a gauntlet for several hundred miles. It was all about their revenues at the expense of the public and some of their behavior was endangering the few cars on the road. Looks like Springfield has a quota to fill, too.

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    2. Aethelred the Unready7/20/12, 3:32 AM

      Clearly they have a quota system that allows them special kudos in their reports based on the number of traffic stops and the number of minor parole violation apprehensions they make. That can only be happening because the Select Board falls for it and the Police Chief implements it. But police patrols alone are not the answer, and adding a drug officer to the Town is just plain stupid. That money would be better spent initiating public nuisance suits and condemnation suits, or just another regular officer without a radar gun and without a police cruiser -- assigned to walk the streets or ride a bicycle around town.

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    3. I have been told (by a chief from another department) that individual police forces don't directly reap the profits of a speeding ticket. All penalties go directly to the state and then are divided up among the various police departments throughout the state.

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    4. Bonnie Porter7/20/12, 11:24 AM

      Wow, kind of like the common level of appraisement. Nice system, and they don't get evaluated for the number of citizen contacts they get when stopping speeders, or hauling in parole violaters, cool. Somebody should get the word out on that right away, so those working on reform will get it straight. Good investigative work there Anonymous 6:33. What else did the crystal ball have to say?

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    5. They need to keep those parolees off the Street and all those welfare speeders as well. All this government spending is hogwash. Why can't they get jobs and build their own recreational places instead of driving over that bridge and around the corner so fast -- I almost got hit walking with my honey over to the Senior Center the other day. I say cut all the Town money going to these not for profit do gooders.

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    6. Julian, what the...

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  9. Police can't arrest for parole violations... good try though.

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    1. Bonnie Porter7/20/12, 11:19 AM

      You are absolutely correct. Just ignore all those police reports of detaining people for parole violations. The police can't do that, its a figment of everyone's imagination.

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    2. More power to them. They need to round up those parolee scum, I don't believe it when they say they are going straight -- although it did thin out the attendance at my AA meeting after the shooting. We need more conservatives like Ethan McNaughton keeping those progressives on the Town Board in line. We need real conservatives on the board which will cut out all this welfare stuff, we have talked this over extensively at the senior housing complex where I live. This welfare stuff just drives up the costs of living for us living on Social Security.

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    3. Julian are you having an episode, or is this your normal state of mind?

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    4. @5:28am Huh..you must not read the springfield police blotter. When VOP is listed in the report..that stands for violation of parole. So not sure where you got your information BUT you may want to re-check and come back at us again with something you know about.

      And while I am at it lets give a hand to the wonderful organization Springfield ZRestorative Justice Center..Good job keeping the citizens safe. Because your furloughed inmates don't re-commit crimes do they? Yet, again let me bring up that your local select board allowed that organization to come in, they pushed for them and they agreed to let them open a halfway house here. NOW LOOK WHAT YOU HAVE! I say get rid of all of them including the chief of police and his LT

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    5. The VOP's you speak of would be warrant arrests ...cops can't arrest for probation or parole violations. It's something I'm very familiar with thanks.

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    6. Whether it is a warrant or not is not the point...the police pick up a VOP..that is a violation of parole. The semantics of why they picked up a VOP is negated. The comment was that police do not arrest for a vioation of parole and YES they do..it is a happenstance that it is by issue of warrant.

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    7. It is not negated...are the police supposed to ignore people with warrants? That would be against a judges orders and run the risk of the officer losing his/her job or going to jail. Your arguments make no sense at all. I've viewed the same press releases and court dockets available to everybody...Springfield PD makes a ton of arrests and not many of them are for the violations you describe...in fact most are for far more serious violations. You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about and fill the heads of others with nonsense.

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    8. Aethelred the Unready7/20/12, 7:14 PM

      So you see, the police aren't patrolling for parole violations or checking up to see if parole has been violated, they are merely picking up people that other people have turned in for patrol violations. Doesn't that make you feel comfortable that they are out there protecting you, since they aren't actually enforcing parole provisions they are merely going around and rounding up people that have already been cited. Which is even less police work than had they been arresting people for minor parole violations on their own hook, now they are going around arresting people based on work that someone else did. I am truly amazed if we have any more explanations that indicate the police are doing even less work I will be completely overcome.

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    9. Once again you are making no sense at all. If it is not legal for the police to arrest parole violators without a warrant than how can they?

      Every day I see new reports of people being arrested for assaults, disorderly conduct, stealing, etc. They may make more traffic stops than we would like but don't lie about what's really going on. That makes you as bad as the criminals they arrest.

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    10. May I ask: does the probation officer issue a warrant? Do you know how that works? I thought some parolees have to attend classes, show up for court, take drug tests. Anybody know?

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    11. Courts issue probation/parole warrants at the behest of probation/parole officers.

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    12. We need more of those parole officers, maybe we should put them in the police cruisers so they ccould be out there checking for parolees on the loose. Need to keep those welfare scum off the streets I say. Too many progressives in this town with their tax boondoggles, they just promote fixing up buildings and the creation of drug dens because of high taxes. We need more conservatives like Ethan McNaughton and those other speaking out against all these progressives on the Town Board. Give me liberty or give me death that is what I say.

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  10. See there, they wait until warrants are issued before they arrest for parole violations. These are very meticulous police. We want those parolees arrested they are all welfare scum protected by those progressives on the Town Board. We need to run all the progressive out of Town because they are raising taxes on us good clean folks. I routinely vote down both the Town budget and the School budget because the taxes are just too high. If we lower the taxes the mills will come back. Its the high taxes and the unions that ran those mills out of town. And the police need to jail all those people with the strange eyes I see around town as well and shut that place with the toadstools on it as well. I went to one of those forums and they told me what to look for to find the gangs, and believe me I see a lot of those tatoos when I am in line to buy my lottery tickets. We need more of those conservatives protesting to the Select Board, maybe we need one of those groups with the three-corner hats. I don't know but they keep trying to put taxpayer dollars in fixing these buildings when we need more people to keep the speeders under control and keep the parolees off the street. We can always hold our AA meetings up at the prison, we don't need any marijuana dispensaries either -- none of the progressive propaganda for me. Socialism pure and simple.

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    1. Unless there is a warrant the police can NOT arrest for probation or parole violations.

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    2. Aethelred the Unready7/20/12, 7:18 PM

      Anonymous 6:40 thank you, we were giving the police credit for more work than they were actually doing. Do they actually go out and serve the arrest warrants, or do they just list those when they happen to stumble upon the people when they fall prey to their radar guns?

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  11. The larger question at hand would be how long did it take the state to issue those warrants? Were these violations sitting around for months before warrants were issued all the while the taxpaying public safety being at risk?

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    1. Months frequently.

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    2. Aethelred the Unready7/20/12, 7:21 PM

      Somewhere in one of Julian Hauk's incoherent rants he or she said something about the attendance at the AA meetings falling off right after the shootings. Assuming Julian is at least partially sane, does that mean they were sitting on parole violation warrants until everybody got upset? Anonymous 6:41?

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    3. Yes that makes sense...you're as much of a dolt as Julian is.

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    4. You just never mind what I say Aethelhead and quit trolling my posts you progressive. I said we could move the AA meetings up to the prison. Its time to start preaching to those in prison. Religion is what they need, like that Nick Brown kid. Onward Christian soldiers, with some parades bearing flags should help as well. Just too many people with these food stamps, they clog up the grocery lines so its difficult to buy my lottery tickets...they should all just eat where I do with the meals on wheels program.

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  12. So, let me get this straight, what I'm hearing from all of you is that you'd rather have the police in town just patrolling around, not stopping cars at all and just being visible? So, if thats true, your also ok with our crash rate being higher then, and all of our insurance rates being higher. On top of that, it's been proven in studies way back when that police who are pro-active and stop motorists actually make more of a presence than just by driving around. In fact, I'd rather know that my high tax dollars for this town are going to the police who are actually out doing something! Rather than some places where they are affraid to do something until the phone rings.

    Oh, VOP violations, are actually violations of probation. And yes the can arrest for some matters on probation violations, and thats not just on a warrant. While I've read all the posts here, it seems people are under the impression that police should only be investigating the druggies etc. Do you realize that the guys on patrol, are required to investigate any complaint that is called into dispatch? Do you realize that this means every: dog complaint, neighbor dispute, motor vehicle complaint, burglary, etc. If you really want to know what this police department does, everyday, then go down to the station and request under the freedom of information act an activity log for the last year, or several. They will give you: all the traffic stops, all the different call types, number of arrests, etc.

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    1. Hammond Smith7/21/12, 6:48 PM

      At this point I am totally confused. First someone said that the posted police logs show a lot of arrests for parole violations and traffic stops, then somebody said they can't arrest for parole violations and they needed to have arrest warrants for parole violations which seemed to contradict some of the newspaper articles. Now you are saying they can arrest for violation of probation and that the cruisers which sort of hide are not speed traps? but something else.

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    2. Hammond Smith are you some stupid progressive student, your questions make no sense whatsoever. Can't you see that the Anonymous Policemen here was clearly explaining that the Police hiding their cruisers out between the Interstate and downtown weren't trying to catch speeders they were hiding from the dispatchers. Everybody knows that you can stop speeders when you are out patrolling -- but if you are hiding they see you and slow down so you don't have to give them a ticket. I made perfect sense to me, and we need to keep those parolees back in prison, believe you me. This world is coming to an end because of all this socialism, why can't we get them to behave like my daughter. Now she home schools her six children, or at least the younger ones the older ones go to that school for special children -- you have to be really smart to get in there, I think its called Gateway. And she doesn't take any of that welfare stuff either, she shops at a place called WIC, saves her a lot of money because the price of cigarettes is getting awfully high do to those progressives and their taxes. But if we get some conservatives on that Selectboard and those people who spoke up at the meeting keep supporting the conservative causes there might be some hope for this community. We talked it over at the Senior Center and decided that we really need to cut back on these not-for-profit special assessments they keep making, people need to learn to get by on their own like my honey and I we get those meals on wheels meals. Live free or die I say, like those people of Canada -- none of that Obamacare stuff for them.

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    3. Aethelred the Unready7/21/12, 9:23 PM

      Well, I have no clue what Julian is saying. But, I think that what the rest are trying to say is that they want the Town Police out visibly patrolling the streets, so that the drug traffickers won't feel so confident that the police aren't around that they do drug deals in broad daylight in front of an elementary school, in the plaza, in McDonald's Parking lot, on Wall Street, and on lower Park Street. If they see someone speeding, then fine pick them up, if they see someone violating parole then fine pick them up, but don't spend time in partial concealment trying to ambush people doing ten miles over the speed limit coming into town. And, no you don't need to be doing drug stings, but call on the State to get that job done. If the police are unpredictable present around town, then the drug deals will have to go underground which is fine -- let the State undercover agents get them. And it wouldn't hurt to periodically have police show up on the trails behind the schools especially when the schools are in session, just to make sure people aren't doing drugs there. The townspeople are tired of all the traffic stops between the interstate and Town when this kind of stuff is going on downtown. That is all they are saying, and they are tired of being brushed off by the Selectboard and by the Town Manager, and by the Police Chief.

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    4. I think they are sensing something a bit more than that Aethelred. It seems to me that it is pretty clear that the Department of Corrections, needs some correcting. Their probation or parole or whatever you call it is screwed up. Instead of keeping the prisoners incarcerated until they are not only off drugs, but are completely past the withdrawal stages, they are releasing them to rehab centers. The rehab centers then release them into Springfield where their families have moved while they were incarcerated. In addition, instead of giving them whatever classes and training they supposedly need while in prison and paying for it through the prison budget, they are making them take the courses after they leave prison. The courses offered mainly by HCRS, I suppose, from the various comments that have been made are expensive and these guys are just out of prison probably making minimum wage if they can find a job. The courses are scheduled so they interfere with work schedules and so are their scheduled meetings with their parole officers, and besides there are only a couple employers who will employ them and they have to have graveyard shifts because the parolees have to attend classes and meet with parole officers during the day. In addition, they have trouble finding housing close to where they work and most do not have drivers licenses. A very few manage somehow to work through this impossible number of obstacles, and get the courses completed and paid for, and then wham they get picked up on some minor parole violation and the nightmare starts all over again. It is so bad, that many are opting to serve out their entire sentences because they realize its almost impossible to survive on the outside. Given these facts, some people are starting to smell a racket that involves HCRS raking in fees for their courses and the police picking up parolees on minor parole violations. Now that may be completely unfounded, and probably is unfounded, I have even heard rumors that the prison is actually managed by a private corporation -- if so then the smell gets worse. Whatever, the case, we need to get the revolving door system fixed and that is going to require people demanding that it get fixed and demanding some answers. The people in the best place to start demanding those answers are on the Town Selectboard and the Town Manager, but they are going to have to get at the real facts and do some real investigations. They are also going to have to shut down the more obvious drug dens. Its completely correct for the citizens to be upset, and to demand action. They did not get the action at the last Selectboard meeting, if they don't get them at the next one -- then there is going to be one heck of a political firestorm in this Town.

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    5. Of all you alter egos, Alpin Jack seems to be the smartest one (at times) and you should just stick to that one. Julian has moments but you drag out the sarcasm to where it bores the reader. Not getting the caricature of Hammond Smith, I assume he’s an older slightly dim witted union leader and Springfield lifer? Aethelred of course is your set up man, a bit of Abbot and Costello if you will.
      Anyway this past piece of writing I believe is right on the mark. At one time I have employed a few “customers” of the rotating “rehabilitation” service. Everything you brought up is correct. Two guys that worked for me had very minor crimes under their belt. Between parole officer meets, trips to the HCRS and the occasional court dates trying to help these guys out was almost impossible. Things are accomplished in a business when we can keep our employees on task, starting and stopping projects cost money. For this reason it’s no wonder businesses no longer hire anyone that is part of that system. Another part of this of course are the reaction of those employees that are not part of that system as they need to pick up missed work of the “slacker”.
      To be successful these programs need some hours other than bankers hours. If they are truly trying to help these folks out then work with them on schedules. To me we seem to have many folks working for the State and HCRS so maybe some rotating schedules could be worked out. It’s funny to me that government doesn’t want to embarrass folks on welfare by making them attempt to find work (I use that term loosely), yet a guy that is trying to do things right, has a job and supporting himself needs to miss work hours and jeopardize his job to fill some criteria that supports several other peoples jobs. It’s quite a circle. And of course there is that last element that Alpin mentions, if they get picked up for some VOP, you’re talking several missed days of work. It really isn’t worth it to hire these folks and try to help them out.
      Do you think the Select Board or other Town Officials are going to attempt to break that circle? Not even with all the pressure of the world on them, because they can’t. It has been well developed but people with business degrees working in the public sector. But what they can do is focus on local issues that they can solve. Thus unlike many whom write on this board I offer some solution. They can increase police presence in troubled area, no I don’t care what any studies show, when people see police they do a quick inner check. An old-timer once told me that if you want people to stop speeding have the police out where people can see them, I have never found that statement to be untrue for myself. How many times do you see someone pass a law enforcement car on the highway? (Of course you would have to be able to catch them to do that.)
      Other things that can be done would be increase awareness of troubled areas to town folks, needless to say those that live there and the slumlords will become more obvious. This can drive buyers away from those areas, thus cutting the business of illegal operations out. I suspect this would never happen because town folks would be questioning why the town leaders are not proactive in cleaning things up. One other thing I could do is listen to the folks that put them in office. Yeah some ideas are just loud noise from people bitching, other idea’s are solid suggestions. We seem to have committees in town for several foolish things, maybe we need a group (without all the experts on it) of concerned citizens working with the board on this.
      I believe the Police Chief is as good as the Select Board as things start at the top. They must work together but results must be demanded, that includes of the Town Manager also. As town residents and taxpayers we cannot allow the Select Board to operate with a good ole boy mentality. This is about protecting all of us not just a few town officials jobs.

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    6. I agree if the real idea regarding traffic control is to get people to slow down and obey the speed limit, then you want the police cars moving around and visible. If the purpose is to catch people speeding and hand out tickets, then you set up speed traps with half-hidden cars. Police roaming in their cruisers then slow down the traffic, and they also disrupt drug deals so that they go underground. To a certain extent the notoriety regarding Union Street is already having some impact since the word is that any "self-respecting drug user" is now going to Wall Street to get their drugs. There seems also a misconception that the problem is strictly with prisoners and parolees, as I understand the word on the street the big problem of increased trafficking in the schools was the result of them hiring out of the area prison guards and the prison guard families bringing problems with them. The police alone will not be able to stabilize the situation, the Selectboard which is not accustomed to do anything, is going to have to get active and strongly consider nuisance abatement actions against some of the slumlords. The studies suggest that is necessary if you have a specific area that has become a drug den. But, I am afraid that the Selectboard will try to duck the issue and pass it off to one of these many non-profits which thrive on the continued illegality of marijuana and the existence of drugs and rumors of gangs.

      Delete
  13. What, Harry Byrd and Alpin Jack sharing some of the same thoughts? What is next cats and dogs living together?

    Maybe this issue has brought the town closer together.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John Winscombe7/22/12, 8:08 PM

      If those who can talk coherently about both sides of an issue can actually start talking about the crux of the problems, then perhaps the Selectboard, Town Manager, and Police Chief would do well to start listening. I normally read this blogspot for comic relief, but suddenly it appears that people are actually getting to the heart of issues. They are still coming at it from different perspectives, but that is to be expected during these polarized political times. There seems to be a basic consensus that we have allowed the Selectboard to be comprised with do-nothings for too long. I would suggest that we have a similar problem with our State Representatives who have stood essentially quiet during this whole debacle even though the State Department of Corrections has moved back and forth from center stage to the sidelines as people analyze the situation. While goading the Selectboard, Town Manager, and Police Chief out of their comfort zone so they cease sleepwalking while the Town continues a downward spiral, let us also note that for several decades our State legislators have been something less than helpful in bringing the attention of the State to our community. I don't want to distract the focus from the local authorities, they rightly deserve a thorough public political whipping -- but at the same time, let's not forget there has been a fair amount of bipartisan bumbling at the State level as well.

      Delete
  14. So as most of you figured out I am a police officer, but not working in Springfield. FYI speed traps are illegal, however, sitting on the side of a road, or using useless cars or dump trucks etc, is not what a speed trap is! Now, if your up set about being stopped for ten over the limit, then guess what don't do it again! It's against the law, and our jobs as law enforcement officers is to enforce the laws! So if you don't like us enforcing a law, get the legislature to change it or repeal it! But because you got a ticket and are pissed because the cop did his job, suck it up buttercup!

    If you really want know what happens in the Springfield police, then request their information through the freedom of information act! There is more that happens with them than is posted on Facebook.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. William James7/22/12, 8:12 PM

      Gee, glad to know those partially concealed officers cruisers sitting out there between the interstate and downtown with their radar guns aren't speed traps. I think they were actually trying to detect those bears that have been raiding the feeders of late. I never would have figured that out, thanks for demonstrating that other towns have truly thoughtful police officers as well.

      Delete
    2. You do realize that you are actually less likely to get a ticket in Springfield than you are in most other towns right? Guess that blows the speed trap notion out of the water huh? In the words of Homer Simpson...Doh!

      Delete
    3. Busy little bees, just read their reports...such nice reports, who would have guessed that they were so busy writing up those little reports. I am so proud, they have kept track of my daughters older kids for her as well. She has been a little cranky of late, its all that dieting she does -- but she is so slim and trim now. Clear down to 250 lbs., I think she will be able to catch the younger boys now.

      Delete
    4. Julian Hauk - Have you lost your mind? This makes no sense....

      Delete
    5. By the by, if you actually look up the definition of a speed trap, it is an illegally posting of a speed limit temporarily to catch people breaking said illegal speed limit.

      Delete
    6. Aethelred the Unready7/23/12, 8:05 PM

      Don't you just love police defenders, it is very clear that the Vermont Police Academy is doing a very good job with its vocabulary quizes. They have their own definitions of "prison guard", "speed trap", and "VOP". So now all you commenters be sure to use the phrase "speeder ambush" instead of "speed trap" in the future. I fear that if the Chief of Police starts using definitional defenses at the next Select Board meeting that we will have all these little effigies of him hanging there decorating the street lamps in Springfield the next day.

      Delete
  15. Seems like they stay pretty busy to me...who would have guessed in little old Springfield?

    June stats:

    Reported Offense Total Incidents

    Consent Search 2
    SEX OFFENSE, FORCIBLE RAPE 1
    SEX OFFENSE, OTHER (Forcible) 1
    ROBBERY RESIDENCE W/KNIFE 1
    AG ASSAULT NO WEAPON 1
    ASSAULT SIMPLE, NOT AGGRAVATED 7
    BURGLARY FORCE RESIDENCE 2
    BURGLARY FORCE NON-RESIDENCE 2
    BURGLARY NO FORCE RESIDENCE 1
    BURGLARY NO FORCE NON-RESIDENC 2
    LARCENY SHOPLIFTING 4
    LARCENY FROM MOTOR VEHICLE 2
    LARCENY AUTO PARTS/ACCESSORIES 1
    LARCENY BICYCLES 1
    LARCENY FROM BUILDING 2
    LARCENY ALL OTHER 8
    LARCENY ATT FROM MOTOR VEHICLE 1
    LARCENY ATTEMPT BICYCLES 1
    LARCENY ATTEMPT ALL OTHER 1
    FRAUD, INSUFFICIENT FUNDS CHK 2
    FRAUD, FALSE Pretenses/Swindle 1
    VANDALISM OF MOTOR VEHICLES 2
    VANDALISM OF RESIDENCE 2
    LEWD, INDECENT EXPOSURE 1
    Pornography/Obscene Material 1
    Regulated Drugs-Possession of 2
    Driving Under the Influence 4
    ILLEGAL POSSESSION BY A MINOR 2
    DISTURBING THE PEACE 2
    FAMILY DISTURBANCE 6
    DISORDERLY CONDUCT OTHER 1
    Condition of Release Violation 3
    ANNOYING, HARRASS, SUSP PHONEC 5
    THREATENING PHONE CALLS 2
    TRESPASSING VIOLATION 3
    Fireworks 3
    ARREST ON WARRANT - POLICE CHK 2
    Accident-Injury-DMV Report 3
    Accident-Damage - DMV Report 10
    MOTOR VEHICLE, DISTURBANCES 13
    Careless Negligent Motor Veh 3
    DLS Criminal 5
    LSA Motor Vehicle 1
    Littering 2
    Canine Use (Police Dogs) 1
    Alarm 4
    Ambulance or Medical Assist 5
    Animal Problem 29
    Agency Assist 72
    Background Investigation 3
    Burglary Alarm 7
    Citizen Dispute 32
    Citizen Assist 42
    E911 Hangup 5
    Escort 1
    False Alarm 7
    Foot Patrol 12
    Intoxicated Person 2
    Juvenile Problem 11
    Lost or Found Property 6
    Residence or Vehicle Lockout 1
    Mental Health Assistance 3
    Message Delivered 1
    Missing Person 2
    Motorcycle/Recreation Veh Prob 1
    Noise Disturbance 6
    Property Damage, Non-vandalism 2
    Suspicious Person/Circumstance 46
    Property Watch 1
    Recovered Stolen Property 1
    Recovered Stolen Vehicle 1
    Traffic Crash Non-Reportable 10
    Traffic Hazard 5
    Threatening 3
    Vehicle Serial # Inspection 13
    Welfare Check 19

    Total Incidents for This Agency: 476

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The above was posted from their Facebook site...forgot to put that in the original post.

      Delete
    2. I don't see any separate listing for issuing speeding tickets. Why is that? Would that be too enlightening as to where they spend most of their time?

      Delete
    3. For me, this just raises more questions?

      Am I missing the drug arrests?

      Also, what does agency assist mean? That has the largest volume of calls.

      12 foot patrols in 30 days? Awesome.

      Message Delivered? Do they realize there is this thing call email these days?

      Where do the put speeding tickets?

      29 Animal problems? Is there a zoo in this town I am not aware of?

      Delete
    4. Agency assists run the gamut from service of court paperwork to helping other departments.

      Anonymous 9:22 do you want to receive notification that a family member has passed away by email?

      If you can get people to stop calling in barking dog/dogs running at large complaints 9:22 I'm sure they would love it.

      Delete
    5. Perhaps the town needs a animal control officer, not a drug detective.

      Delete
    6. Perhaps...every Town around Springfield has one.

      Delete
    7. Just for kicks and giggles I calculated that the above statistics indicate an average of 16 complaints a day that have to be responded to, investigated and a report written on them. Seems like it might explain why the two officers as noted above (or more on the "weekends" as the Chief of Police said) on shift don't have much time.

      Delete
    8. Wasn't there a discussion about an animal control officer? I think animal issues are a big deal. Sorry, if I offend, but it looks like 29 other people felt the same way.

      Delete
    9. Keep in mind, many of these numbers can be from the same incident, just coded differently. An example: Accident-Injury-DMV, DLS Criminal, Ambulance or Medical Assist,Traffic Hazard all can be from one incident. It's a number game that law enforcement plays and the chief does it well!

      Delete
    10. Aethelred the Unready7/23/12, 8:09 PM

      They do that almost as well as their definitional semantics games -- that seem to make sense, and then you realize they have nothing to do with what the person was talking about.

      Delete
    11. Unfortunately. Anonymous. 8:02 only the major offense reported is recorded for each incident...failure again. Aethelred you keep being proven wrong...persistence doesn't always pay off but good try!

      Delete
    12. Yeah, see Aethelhead, these reports are crystal clear. The police are busy little bees. The ones you thought you saw with those radar guns by the side of the road, those were actually mirages. Have you had your eyes checked lately? My daughter started having trouble with her vision because she was eating too many donuts, now that she has cut back her vision has cleared up. Are you eating too many donuts?

      Delete
    13. Aethelhead you might want to get your ears checked as well, you sound like one of those progressive teachers. They don't hear very well either. Why my grandson was just asking one of them whether she could be "friendly off and on" and she thought he said something obscene, he wouldn't say anything like that, although he might have heard it shouted a time or two. You see my daughter gets lonely from time tot time so she goes to see her boyfriend and brings a six pack along as a kind of welcome home gift. Course after she has drunk five of them she naturally gets a bit feisty as she is lecturing about the fact that he is welfare scum which tends to provoke him. But she is empowered now and knows her rights, she has his probation officer on speed-dial and whenever he talks back she just pushes the button and zip he's gone for another 6 month cooling off period. Course the last couple times he has tried to hide from her when he gets out, which is sort of rude -- but she eventually finds him and helps him out of his blues, until he blows up and she has to push that button again. That's why we need those police out there rounding up those parolees to keep their girlfriends safe. They have a hard life as it is raising all those out of wedlock kids, but somebody has to do it. Our preacher is foursquare against sex education and birth control as those are progressive socialist things that we need to avoid, so I made sure my daughter avoided them, and she is homeschooling her kids to make sure they avoid them too.

      Delete
    14. It's clear we have Springfield's finest responding to this blog, I hope it's during their off duty time and not while I'm paying them!!!!

      Delete
  16. "suck it up buttercup!" Really? I don't see the real criminals in town sucking up anything other than illegal money. If the cops ignore the real criminals and spend their time giving out speeding tickets what does that tell you? Either the cops are scared chickens or they are paid to look the other way. Either way the town has become the wild west as far as law and order go. Time to fire all the cops and get some real heroes working here that can do the complete job expected from them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Obviously if you read above they don't spend their time writing speeding tickets...

      Delete
    2. Obviously you can't tell me how many speeding tickets they issued nor can you tell me how much time was devoted to that in relationship of their other greatly magnified duties can you? Why do you think that is?

      Delete
    3. It's actually and easy question to answer. I don't know. Why don't you contact them and ask?

      Delete
    4. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
    5. Aethelred the Unready7/23/12, 8:39 AM

      Obviously, nobody seems to be able to figure out what the reports mean, which is understandable. They do, however, have eyes and although eyes sometimes deceive -- it was very apparent that until people started calling the police practices into question they were devoting a lot of time to...of okay we can't call them speed traps...let's call it speeder ambush on the four lane highway running from the Interstate to Downtown. But now because of the public hue and cry, they have at least temporarily reallocated their manpower to things more beneficial to the community.

      Delete
    6. Well my daughter did ask them over at the donut shop, and they cleared it all up for her. They told her that speed traps were illegal and gave her the definition of speed trap. And they told her there was no such thing as quotas, just evaluation criteria. He said that they were just reacting to all the people complaining about speeders doing 50 mph on that four lane coming into downtown. He told her that if people would just be precise with their terms they would be able to understand the reports. Course they did start to lecture her about her five dogs barking all the time which she didn't appreciate, she feeds them every other day. These are tough times and she has had to cut back to 6 donuts per day now and they have been talking about restricting what she can use those coupons she gets. Its all because of this socialist stuff, I think.

      Delete
  17. Hear me a little,

    For I have only been silent so long
    And given way unto this course of fortune


    By noting of Springfield's Finest.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thou knowest that the fashion of a doublet, or a hat, or a cloak is nothing to a man.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Nay pray thee, come;

    Or if thou wilt hold longer argument,
    Do it in notes.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Note this before my notes:
    There’s not a note of mine that’s worth the noting.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Why, these are very crotchets that he speaks –


    Note notes, forsooth, and nothing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Notes? My grandson wasn't passing notes, he was just quietly tapping his pencil. You some kind of progressive snob showing off your education?

      Delete
    2. Actually, your grandson calls me a flatlander.

      I suggest you post your real name before you tread on me and call me a progressive again...

      Delete


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