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"Jack Dunphy," LAPD Officer, Decries Cuts To Police Agencies
Uses An Odd Venue: National Review
by J. Patrick Coolican
LA Weekly
July 13, 2010
"Jack Dunphy" is the pseudonym for an LAPD officer who blogs.
Today, he laments what's bound to happen when Oakland fires 80 cops. His choice for the lament, National Review's blog The Corner, is an odd one. The conservative magazine was founded by the godfather of the movement, William F. Buckley. (see National Review article below) |
It's a publication ardently opposed to the federal government giving aid to states and cities so they don't have to lay off cops. Then again, maybe National Review is the perfect place for him to be explaining what will happen to Oakland -- and, L.A. as well, the LAPD union would argue -- in these lean budget times.
Dunphy writes: Facing a budget shortfall, the city of Oakland is about to lay off 80 police officers. This is hardly a wallop they can shrug off in a city where the murder rate is more than three times the national average. So, in the event that last-minute negotiations fail to avert these layoffs, citizens in Oakland are being informed that if they should suffer any of the misfortunes on a list of 44 situations that once brought a police response, no officer will come to their door to take a report, much less try to do something about it. Reports about incidents on the list will have to be made online, police say.
(Although Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has said cuts to manpower levels of the police department are off the table, the union says cuts in overtime and in the number of civilian employees have effectively amounted to cuts in police manpower.)
Jonathan Chait, the tough essayist and blogger for The New Republic, considers Dunphy's post: The liberal position is that the federal government, which can borrow money, should give money to state and local governments in order to minimize such dislocations. The conservative position is that such grants are wasteful big government. I'm not sure Dunphy is aware that he's making the case for the liberal position.
Given that we don't know who Dunphy is, it's hard to say. Maybe he's trying to persuade National Review readers to re-consider.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: We frequently carry material written by "Jack Dunphy" and welcome his input and perspective, just as we welcome the input and perspective of any government official, law enforcement officers or members of the public. Keep those letters coming! Here's what Jack wrote in the National Review:
But What If They Take My Computer?
by
Jack Dunphy
National Review
July 13, 2010
The fourth episode in the debut season of Seinfeld was called “ The Robbery.” In that episode, Jerry goes off to perform on the road, leaving Elaine to tend to his New York apartment . This was in the pre-Giuliani days, so Jerry returns to find that his television, VCR, and other items have been stolen. (This is technically a burglary, not a robbery, but you can't quibble about such things with these Hollywood types.) A police officer comes to Jerry's apartment to take a report, after completing which the officer tells Jerry, “Well, Mr. Seinfeld, we'll look into it and we'll let you know if we if we find anything.”
“You ever find anything?” Jerry asks.
“No,” says the cop.
Soon, in Oakland, Calif., this scenario will not be played for comedy but rather for poignant tragedy. Not only will the police not find anything, they won't even come out to the crime victim's home or business to tell him they won't.
Facing a budget shortfall, the city of Oakland is about to lay off 80 police officers. This is hardly a wallop they can shrug off in a city where the murder rate is more than three times the national average. So, in the event that last-minute negotiations fail to avert these layoffs, citizens in Oakland are being informed that if they should suffer any of the misfortunes on a list of 44 situations that once brought a police response, no officer will come to their door to take a report, much less try to do something about it. Reports about incidents on the list will have to be made online, police say.
Given that burglary and theft are on the list, one must wonder what options will be available to a man whose computer is stolen.
— Jack Dunphy is an officer in the Los Angeles Police Department. “Jack Dunphy” is a nom de cyber. |
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