Clark County law enforcement staffing per thousand residents is currently way below a reasonable level. It is currently 25% of the national average. Unincorporated Clark County staffing is half of the level of any city within Clark County.
The county is responsible for the largest unincorporated metro area in the state, and we are one of the lowest staffed counties in America.
This is the result of county staff and elected officials not making law enforcement staffing a priority for over twenty years. Some are more sympathetic with law breakers than with law enforcement. Those in charge of allocating funds have made it a last priority, only resorting to hiring new law enforcement after forcing new taxes to fund them upon the citizens.
The people currently in government don’t see this the way the citizens see it. They will continue to do anything to discourage funding law enforcement.
With a new charter amendment mandating additional funding likely to be put before the people, you can be sure they will tell you they sky will fall, and the county will go bankrupt, if such a measure passes.
What I hear is that people want a safe community where laws are enforced equally for everyone. A community where people feel safe. A community where someone who calls 911, knows the call will be answered, and help will arrive soon.
It is the people who pay the cost for the lack of law enforcement. Our state ranks first for the cost of retail theft. This lack of law enforcement costs citizen $350. That is just retail costs passed on to you to deal with theft. The cost of not having law enforcement may be ten times what the cost of funding deputies is.
There will be a charter amendment to change the direction we are heading. If approved by the citizens, it will force elected officials to fund additional deputies until we get to a minimum staffing level.
Long term, citizens must elect unapologetically pro law enforcement representatives. Deputies acting on behalf of the public deserve political authorities that support them, too.
We need to elect people who will make decisions from a citizen’s point of view.
The next time you go to the store and see Legos or Lipstick locked in cages, remember,
It’s because of politicians who refused to put Law breakers behind bars, and you are paying for it.