Welcome to OnsideBuffalo - "OnSide" Buffalo Oklahoma - Buffalo Blog -of the town of Buffalo Oklahoma

Late Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson said,
"It is not the function of our government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error."

This blog is for people to share their thoughts and ideas on things of interest in this town of Buffalo Oklahoma.


Click on the Topics Title to Read its comments
To Leave a comment click on the word "COMMENT"



PRESENTED BY ONSIDEBUFFALO
Free Calendar from Bravenet.com
TRY OUT THE EVENTS CALENDAR
ENTER YOUR EVENT TODAY






Monday, July 2, 2012

GET OFF YOUR ASS AND DO SOMETHING


On Facebook it has been suggested to me, several times just this last weekend, to do something about the recent crime increase that we have been having in Buffalo. It seems that there are several people that “like” the suggestion that I do something about these problems. So here it goes.

One of the issues is lack of manpower to police the streets of Buffalo. It is common knowledge that the Town of Buffalo (TofB); for reasons that I do not know; has disbanded its Police Department (I think I know why but I'll keep that to myself for now).

It is left up to the Harper County Sheriffs Office (HCSO) to enforce the laws within the city limits of Buffalo. The HCSO concedes that they are spread too thin to provide the protection that Buffalo needs. They want more manpower. Currently there is an impasse between the TofB and the HCSO in reaching a solution to the lack of officers to patrol the town.

It has been suggested that Neighborhood Watches be formed to help out with the shortage of manpower. One can google that topic and find numerous strategies and helpful organizations to guide a community successfully towards a safer community. One common guideline, from different googled pages, stresses the importance of establishing a relationship between the watch groups and the local law enforcement agency which, in this case, is the HCSO. I am not aware if the HCSO has experience and training for implementing any of these watches or not. It is not clear to me if any area organizations can provide any guidance, whether it be a civic group or some sort of law enforcement association.

Let’s just imagine that everything falls into place, the people unite, the entities embrace and the watch groups are organized and implemented to actual on the ground activity. The groups are actively watching and notice unusual behavior or even worse criminal activity. The group witnesses something as simple as popping a fire cracker by a juvenile out past his curfew. It is clearly a violation of city ordinance for two possible issues. The HCSO is called and they respond. Or do they?

Even if they do, as it has been pointed out in the past, the HCSO “can not act on any city ordinance” issues. So that leaves the development, organization, recruitment efforts, and implementation of the Neighborhood Watch group in the same position that the HCSO is now, with their hands tied and the inability to do anything about crimes being committed.

So given that hands are tied because HCSO “can’t act on city ordinance violations” shouldn’t the first order of business, and one step in fast tracking towards a solution to part of the problem, be to enter into an interlocal agreement with the Town of Buffalo for the immediate time being that will allow the HCSO to enforce city ordinances?

A zero cost agreement should always be in existence no matter what the status of manpower is at the time. It should be renewed annually whether or not there is a contract for police coverage for the town by HCSO. It should be renewed annually if even a city police dept exists or not in Buffalo. 

Let’s remove those cuffs so they can be used where they are needed. It seems that currently more manpower or any Neighborhood Watch group that has its hands tied like the HCSO is of no use.

2 comments:

  1. People always say that it will take someone getting hurt to make things change.

    HELLO, SOMEONE GOT HURT.

    Start a neighborhood watch. The first volunteers should be the Boardmembers who voted to close the PD. What were they thinkin? Wait, let's not play the "blame game". Until you admit there is a problem how can you fix it. Someone should be held accountable for the one who got hurt. Someone should take the responsibility for leaving the town wide open. This isnt the old west where you can leave everything unlocked and and have a true open door town. The world has changed and so have our core values.Come on people - good grief.

    Yes I am anonymous. If not, I would be crucified in this town. Another reason for PD.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Get on the town board agenda and voice your concerns!! Noone is going to crusify you for that. Lets quit talking and start acting. Go to the city hall, tell them you want on the next board agenda. She will ask you what it pertains to and all you have to say is police officers for buffalo then show up at the meeting. If enough people will do this then maybe they will listen..

    ReplyDelete