Remember Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers movies? Remember how he was in space so long he didn’t know the value of money? He threatened to blow up the world unless he was paid the astounding sum (to him) of one million dollars! In the next Austin Powers movie, Mayor Chuck Reed could play Dr. Evil.
Okay, Reed isn’t a doctor and he isn’t evil. But he seems equally impressed with one million dollars! It’s Reed’s simple reaction to the rising crime challenges in San Jose. He has a pattern of reacting with token gestures to major problems. Here are some public safety examples:
1. In 2006, Police Chief Rob Davis reported that we need to add 500 officers [1] in the next five years to keep San Jose safe. In 2007, Reed in his State of the City speech responds: 15 new officers [2]. Cost: one and a half million dollars!
2. In 2007, gang activity increases in San Jose. Reed adds resources to the gang task force [3]. Amount: one million dollars!
3. In 2008, Reed’s March budget proposal again includes 15 new officers [4]. Cost: one and a half million dollars!
There’s nothing wrong with Reed’s proposals. But it’s weak leadership: an incrementalist’s approach to big problems. Reed hasn’t articulated a real public safety plan.
Here’s what San Jose needs to address:
• Gangs – Across the nation, gang activity is increasing in areas with large immigrant populations like San Jose.
• Police Force – SJ has the smallest police force of any US city, population of 500,000 to 1 million. We have less than 1,400 officers [5]. San Francisco, a smaller city, has 2,300.
• Police Budget – the police department currently gets 27 percent of the city’s budget. (Surprisingly, city staff misreported this as 39 percent to the city council at a study session.) The top 10 cities in California [6] spend on average 36 percent. Bay Area cities with populations more than 100,000 [7] spend on average 35 percent.
• Recruitment and Retention – Despite an erroneous report in the Mercury News [8], we’re having trouble recruiting quality candidates. Earlier this year, there were only 45 qualified candidates for 53 vacancies. We’ve always hired the best and brightest. Without competitive compensation, we won’t be able to continue this practice.
These public safety challenges won’t go away or get better. And they won’t be fixed with token gestures in mayoral press releases. To think so is as silly as thinking that that you could steal a nuclear weapon and hold the world hostage for one million dollars!
Bobby Lopez is the president of the San Jose Police Officers Association.
Links to Sources:
[1] http://www.sjpd.org/Records/5_Year_Staffing_Plan_OCR.pdf [2] http://www.sanjoseca.gov/mayor/news/speeches/2007StateofCityRelease_Final.pdf [3] http://www.sanjoseca.gov/mayor/goals/pubsafety/MGPTF/MGPTF%20Info%20Memo%203-24-08.pdf
[4] http://www.sanjoseca.gov/mayor/goals/budget/2008%20March%20Budget%20Message.pdf
[5] http://www.sjpd.org/Inside_SJPD/DepartmentInfo.html
[6] http://www.sjpoa.com/PDF/pd-spending-ca.pdf
[7] http://www.sjpoa.com/PDF/pd-spending-bay-area.pdf
[8] http://www.sjpoa.com/PDF/sjmerc-ff-pd-beneifts.pdf
Bobby,
If public safety unions weren’t so busy “breaking the bank” with benefits, local Government might have the money to meet your wish list.
C’mon, who else gets a pension of 90 – 100% of final pay for life, fully indexed for inflation? And what other group, especially here in San Jose, has such a dismal record of retiring early on disability?
Take a look at the now bankrupt Vallejo, having been “driven out business” by the 80% chunk of general fund revenues required to support just public safety.
For years, it’s been a circular case of, “So-and-so (pick a municipality)just got a raise and we should get that too.” With the ever-spiraling cost of public safety, I doubt that San Jose will have the budget to meet your wishes.
Mr. Lopez, a man I respect very much, says above, “Across the nation, gang activity is increasing in areas with large immigrant populations like San Jose.” I have to take some issue with that conclusion, especially its focus on “immigrant populations,” because gangs come in all colors and all nationalities, and they all need intervention, prevention, and supression.
San Jose has unfinished business dating back to 1999 when a “white gang” in Willow Glen was allowed to fester under the eyes of the Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force and the San Jose Police Department.
Comments to the Mercury News (after the “white gang” exploded into an arson attack on Superior Court Judge Jack Komar’s home in Willow Glen) made it very clear that the “white gang” was well known to the San Jose Police Department, yet none of the tools of gang intervention, prevention, and suppression had been utilized.
The Mercury News practically gloated in its reporting on this criminal gang, but carefully refused to ask why the policies of the Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force and the San Jose Police Department allowed the “white gang” to fester until it exploded.
Until this race-based discrimination is cleared up, San Jose residents need to ask what is going on inside the Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force and the San Jose Police Department. It certainly appears to be race-based discrimination in gang intervention, prevention, and suppression.
I certainly couldn’t support a tax increase dedicated to law enforcement until this race-based discrimination is thoroughly examined and eliminated.
401K retirement plans in the private sector allow people to put away $15,500 for retirement. Most companies do not match however my employer matches 6% of my contribution which is $930.
Contrast with SJ Police where the officers can put aside $11,000 for retirement however the city will match it with $26,000!!!
This is just one reason why we are unable to hire additional officers since the benefits are so huge including lifetime medical.
Mr. Lopez does raise some interesting questions about public safety which I have no expertise. I live in a safe neighborhood, so don’t see the signs of our city’s deterioration the way others might.
But I’ve worked with a lot of CEO’s in my time and think Mr. Lopez has raised some serious isuses about Mayor Reed’s leadership abilities. From my perspective, anyone who was a maverick as a councilmember was going to have a challenge leading the city. This was indeed a question raised by his opponent, Ms. Chavez.
Reed does seem timid on many major issues, preferring cautious approaches like making a balanced budget a top priority. It’s a good goal, but it’s also a low bar for leadership compentency.
If Mr. Lopez is right about public safety, Mr. Reed isn’t really a bold, proactive leader. He seems to have managerial qualities more than leadership qualities.
Mr. Lopez,
Perhaps the REAL Dr. Evil is the previous adminstration, led by Mayor Gonzalez and Cindy Chavez, who never invested in the police department during the boom years.
How can you expect Chuck and the mostly new council to undo in a year and a half what took the previous adminstration 8 years to create? You had a labor majority on the council for years and couldn’t get them to hire enough officers to do the job adequately. What you did get was a council who bloated city government and created more and more ways to spend money diverting it from public safety. What you got was a council that createdpolicies that eroded our industrial/business base while making San Jose the most difficult and expensive place to do business in the area.
Remember, these were all politicians you helped get into office and supported them as they drove the city down this road.
The voters were fed up – if you doubt that, look at the significant majority percentage that the mayor and several ofthe new councilmembers were voted in on.
The voters asked for and received representatives that are trying to be fiscally responsible and turn the city around. They – and your officers – work for the voters.
I guess they could cave in, give huge raises, give more benefits to your officers, and then pass out pink slips and relieve you of the burden of speaking for so many officers. Or better yet, lets just close our libraries and fence off the parks.
Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it.
I think if you continue these tactics of attacking those who work to make this city a better place, you will enrage the voters. I smell a voter initiative coming to take away binding arbitration, create a 2nd tier retirement/benefit package, and other very distasteful proposals.
#6: Why is fiscal responsibility “a low bar for leadership competency”?
It would be very easy to “lead” San Jose by caving into the unions. That sort of “leadership” has to the current budget deficit.
We elected a Mayor who is not in the pocket of unions, who understands that balanced budgets aren’t sexy but they are good government. And, of course, he is criticized for being “cautious.”
Sometimes a little caution is a good thing.
– With the egregious retirement and healthcare benefits guaranteed for a lifetime, how can anyone afford to hire new officers? An excellent annual salary and no guaranteed lifetime benefits would save us millions. God forbid people actually take care of themselves.
– It’s a sad, sad day when someone initiates a conversation about gang activity and people cry discrimination. Of course gang activity occurs in every community, but how can one avoid the obvious statistics behind an overwhelming majority of gang members. I guess being PC is more important than addressing problems.
and as other departments of the city will ask, what about parks, recreation centers, street repairs, libraries.
I would be saying thank you for the “million” dollars, not criticizing
sheesh!
Our gang task force is underfunded but we sure have some nice golf course nets.
Would Mr. Lopez support a transition to “safety officers,” like the model used by the City of Sunnyvale?
Regrading the comment about “large immigrant populations,” it is a fact, that gang members from Mexico and Central America have moved in to American cities and caused serious problems. To not be able to address this question due to political correctness is wrong (and dangerous).
pete campbell
Bobby,
Thank you for taking the time to write this column, and for keeping our city and its citizens safe from harm. It is indeed concerning to me that our Mayor doesn’t realize how serious the needs of our Police Department are. It is like giving a man a minimum wage job and then expecting him to adequately provide for a wife, and three children. A minimum wage job isn’t even enough for one person to live on never mind an entire family.
People can pretend or stay ignorant of the fact that gangs are increasing across this country if they want. They can get hung up in the minutiae of whether gangs are immigrant or white, but the bottom line here is gang activity is on the rise! If you Google the topic of gang activity the numbers will frighten the socks off of you. Or go see “No Country For Old Men.”
The Police provide us with protection and give us the ability to walk the streets without fear. They risk their lives for us everyday doing a thankless job, and they see things we can’t imagine. They provide a vital service I don’t think we can do without nor can we skimp on. My hope is that Mayor Reed is reading this and realizes that there are just some things you can’t buy at the Dollar Store, and expect to get quality usage from.
Here are just a few of the many articles related to the rise of gang activity in SJ and in the US.
http://www.metroactive.com/metro/12.05.07/news-0749.html
http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080503/OPINION09/805030339
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-06-12-fbi-violent-crime_x.htm
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91092683
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/319304_gangs11.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/07/28/eveningnews/main3107316.shtml
I believe the subject is centered around “Core Values”, what the people of our city believe our values to be. Our City, unlike other major cities of our size does not have a policy of “Core Values”.
The “Quality of Life” issues we talk about on this blog that upsets us the most are about “Core Services”, services we expect and believe are important. If we want to continue to have a “livable city”, then Police and Fire Department services,City Parks are Important to us. The other core services include maintaining our streets and making sure we have a good water treatment facility.
We have asked our Mayor and City Council members for 50 new police officers, or 5 additional police officers per district which is less than one officer per shift.We need enforcement officers on motorcycles.
Adding 15 new officers when 11 officers are retiring is not very helpful. The following year we added another 15 officers but,we laid off civilian employees at the police department and now we are taking police officers off the street to fill the necessary clerical PD office jobs.This is not a gain of 15 officers.
The City needs to focus on “Core Services” before it`s too late.
Very well said Richard. I’d like to add that the city’s priorities are ridiculous. I guess maintaining a 20 million dollar debt for a golf course instead of selling it to get funds for new Police Officers, and putting up 2.2 million dollar nets is more important than adding qualified Police Officers to San Jose.
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9486394
#12—right on!!! something needs to be done about this problem—once and for all—build that fence!!!
The City of San Jose does nothing to support our federal immigration laws. In fact, they actively thwart them. On top of this they keep packing in subsidized low income housing. Now we’re surprised that there’s a gang problem?
Let’s build a city that is not likely to have gangs in the first place. Makes a lot more sense than subsidizing the building of an environment that is ripe for gang activity and then coming to the taxpayers with your hand out asking them to pay to control the problem that they created in the first place.
I’m willing to go without a single added police officer, let alone 500 of them, if it means having to work well past retirement age in order to keep paying for them to languish on disability or to get 90% of their salary for doing nothing for 20 or 30 years.
Information about police officer pay and benefits are on the city website. http://www.csj.gov/oer/poa.asp
Thanks Mr. Lopez for the contribution I appreciate your candor and disdain for empty gestures. However, with this comment
“• Gangs – Across the nation, gang activity is increasing in areas with large immigrant populations like San Jose”
…you appear to be speaking in code. Is this to say that native-born Americans aren’t part of the gang problem? I doubt it. Please clarify.
#18-John Galt,
I’m not sure what subsidized housing has to do with the topic but, low income housing is built for low income people like seniors, the disabled, and the working class poor. It doesn’t attract any more gang members than any other rental units, or homeowners do.
As to the salary of a Police Officer, a teacher, a Council Aide, an EA, or maintenance technician makes the same as or more than a new Police Officer. The difference between the Police Officer and these others is, they don’t put their lives on the line for thankless citizens everyday.
Oh that’s just great. And all this time I thought we were safe.
If anyone sees Dave Cortese, please ask him to drop by and explain how the heck we are safe when Bobby Lopez just ticked off a handful of serious crime and public safety concerns.
Information about police officer pay and benefits are on the city website.
http://www.sanjoseca.gov/employeerelations/poa.asp
Yo…
Just a simple question here. If San Jose already has one of the lowest crime rates of any large city in the country… Why are more police officers needed?
Mr. Lopez,
Maybe if the police didn’t spend so much time and resourses discouraging customers and visitors from coming downtown; there would be more tax income and thus more money to pay for police.
Think about that the next time you deploy your army to close freeways, streets and sidewalks downtown. WHILE ON OVERTIME!
Think about that when you send your highly trained teams of thugs to chase latinos and skirts around at night.
Gang Promblem??? Why not redeploy the downtown “chase away business officers” to work on the real problem of San Jose; the GANG PROBLEMS.
I have a simple question.
Why can’t we hire Gang prevention personel, knowledleable about the root problems of why this extrodanary GANG issue has become entranched in our cities.
Throwing green cops at them is a war not a solution.
The Mayor’s solution to the gang task force has only made things more volitile.
Many of us joined the military to fight against the police state in other countries.
The road blocks in our community really raised my hackles and I saw for the first time the tyranny of our less than educated city council.
An example is the shootings at San Pedro square. The lawlessness down town.
Who benifits from all the alcohol sold at the San Pedro square area?
A simple act of relocating the GI Forum and their two cash cows from the down town, and into the Eastside would solve all of the confrontations that the San Jose Cops deal with every year. Closing the Dives that create the problems , where the shootings are taking place will give notice to the land lords that benefit from the rents and booze, to be more responcible to who they choose to have in those locations.
I would encourage anyone who hase been rousted by a San Jose Cop to document it on San Jose inside.
I heard of one such episode over the last week end. It reminded me of the SS Nazi tactics I watched on the old TV.
In short, we bring much of this pain onto ourselves as a city.
We are very interested where the mayor will go with his new responcibilities of the Mexican Heritage Plaza.
Will La Familia start paying rent? Will Victor Garza and the GI Forum and Blanca return to the nest.
It seem that the GI Forum’s Cinco de Quatro, needs to remain downtown for yet more Cops. That seems to be the annual “Let’s Get them gangbanger” Oh Shit , we need more of us. Reed we need 100 more cops. Er Ahh, OK!
Reed, more the dam festival out of the down town. Close down the land lords that rent to the evel elements. What’s the problem? Don’t close our state hiway exits to strong arm our families. That is very offensive. The rest of the world watches, as we continue to create the problems for ourselves and then lay the blame on the Greeks, Indians, Italians, and Mexicans, or as was the case recently where we blamed the folks from Oakland for our problems in the down town.
D.O.A.
I keep on back to our “Core Value`s and the City of San Jose`s “Core Services”.
The City of San Jose can find money for Golf, $2million this week but considers cutting parks,community centers and our Gang Task Force funding.
California leeds the Country in the number of prisons and builds more all the time.To prevent crime we must start with having programs for our children when both of their parents are at work. Community Centers, Gang Task Forces, the Police Athletic League, and schools all keep our children busy, build character in our children and keep them off the streets where they meet and join gangs.
Our schools are overcrowed and will get more overcrowed, we can`t build or maintain parks and we cut the Gang Task Force budgets while we cut back at community centers at parks.
Our City lacks “GOOD CORE VALUES”.
It seems over the past few years I have heard and read several news articles regarding the shortage of police applicants amongst California cities. For whatever reasons there is a shortage of applicants and ever fewer that are qualified to be hired. If we want to lower the standards for our police officers then more officers will be considered “qualified”. The trade-off is to be prepared to get what we pay for. If we want to keep standards high and hire only the best, then there has to be some incentive for an applicant to come to San Jose rather than another agency. It is just like any other job market. If a company is willing to offer better compensation or a better work environment, one would be considered a fool to choose to work at the competitor’s company for less compensation. We love to complain about the cost of our medical insurance, however, when we need critical medical care our lives are instantly put in the hands of a doctor, usually a complete stranger. I have been there and I thanked God for the skill of my doctor. I am willing to put up with bad sidewalks or a city tree that goes untrimmed, but I don’t want to skimp on the quality of the police officers we hire when my family member’s lives, or my own, could be suddenly put in their hands. I have needed the police only twice over the past years, once for a serious car crash in which the police pulled me out of a car and the other time for a burglar who was in my house while my family was asleep. I am not thrilled with the amount of taxes I pay, but during each of the above incidents that was the last thing on my mind while they were taking place and I am thankful for the professionalism and training of the officers.
Keep up the good work Bobby, don’t listen to these computer keyboard self proclaimed experts on everything. I agree Mayor Greed is a wind bag that thinks “he and only he” knows whats best for the city. The guy is such a loser.
Just to chime in… Binding Arbitration has nothing to do with San Jose’s lack of adequate public safety as some would have you think. Shooting from the hip and taking that away will not fix the problem.
Also to clarify, the cops and firefighters don’t “sit around for 20-30 years”. Both sides are severely understaffed and absolutely overworked. Currently the national average is 1.69 firefighters per 1,000 people, San Jose has .74 !!!
The 90% benefit is generous I’ll admit, however only achieved after 30 years of service. Being as understaffed and overworked as they are ,they are lucky to make it that long. Hardly any make it without a life long injury or two.
I’m tired of the uninformed harshness toward our public safety. Until you get out there and experience what they experience, you are uninformed. Go do more than one ride-a-long and you will see a pattern. Long hours, hard work, and a disapproving public.
Instead of blaming the cost of the public safety for Vallejo’s downfall, why not blame the piss poor management of the city leaders. Everyone wants a scapegoat (and the fire and police are easy targets) but when it comes down to it, it’s the responsibility of the city leaders to lead and come up with solutions that make sense.
We need viable solutions that will work for the future and not knee jerk reactions towards the cops and firefighters.
How much for a golf net ? c’mon already…..
Having known many police officers over the years, my anecdotal comment is that any cop who retires after 30 years does not have a life expectancy of 20-30 years. The cops I have known who work 30 years or even less have broken bodies by the time the retire and drop dead from heart attacks or cancer within 10 years of retirement. Most of these guys and gals never collect the money they put into the retirement system our of their own pocket during their careers. Thanks to these officers who routinely fight combative suspects and are willing to take a bullet so my family can be safe. I think my view is reflective of 95% of the population and not the 5% who hate the police and blame them for the inept decisions of the current and past administrations, and why we are 500 officers short.
At least we have a new $750 million dollar city hall.
Yesterday, I received some devastating news about a man I’ve known for over 20 years. Vahid Hosseini was the husband of a college mate of mine. He was the most loving, giving, kind man I’ve ever met. He was always willing to help any one in need, and worshiped his wife, children, and family.
I am very grateful to the San Jose Police for all their hard work in trying to find out who shot Vahid in the head and left him for dead. No one should ever lose their lives like this, and I hope and pray that the men who did this are caught and sent to prison for the rest of their natural lives.
I have great faith in SJPD, and I know they will find these men who so carelessly, and selfishly killed an innocent family man over money. My hope is that our Mayor will realize that crimes like this and others are on the rise, and that by allowing our understaffed, and over worked Police Department to go without the additional Police Officers they need, everyone pays the price.
Mercury News Article about Vahid Hosseini’s death:
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9486472?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com
Obituary about Vahid Hosseini:
http://www.legacy.com/mercurynews/DeathNotices.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=111181750&IADID=Search-www.legacy.com-www.mercurynews.com
I found this interesting article in the Mercury News just now, thought it applied to the conversation.
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9533858