by Dennis Sexton, Editor

I wish we could get a new district map in detention; at least one with a more recent date than March or May 2000 (whichever it is). Especially in light of the fact that our western boundary is now somewhere just east of Wahoo. Sorensen Parkway west of 72^nd Street is represented by dashes, but the last time I drove that stretch of road it was paved the whole way. Maybe I’m just being picky here (or maybe it’s just my strange fascination with maps), but I’d say we’re more than a little overdue for new district maps.

I wish that whoever is responsible for painting the parking stall lines at the Northeast Precinct could do all of us the favor of a re-paint. Trying to park in a lot without lines is like trying to give someone the exact time using a sun dial. Sure, you might be able to get within a few minutes of being correct, but meanwhile, I don’t have enough room to park.

I wish we didn’t have to fill out the Hot Spot Stat sheets. It’s honestly not so much that the duplication of effort bothers me as I’m already detailing activity in the Hot Spots (or as I like to call them, "Hot Pockets") on my Daily, but it’s the fact that in the nine or so months that we’ve been doing this, I don’t recall any feedback given as to whether these special attentions have been successful in regards to whatever information is being sought by upper command. It would be nice to know, for example, that street officers recovered, say, 11 more guns in this "Hot Pocket" than had been recovered during the same time frame a year ago. At this point however, it seems we just keep doing it to do it so that we have proof that we’re devoting more attention to high crime areas should someone come around looking for hard evidence of just that. I could be wrong, but it seems to me that numbers regarding such a question of our activity could be rounded up from paperwork that we already complete everyday: our Dailies. (Imagine how easy that information could be pulled if we completed our Dailies electronically.)

I wish someone could explain to me why all (or most) misdemeanor charges are dropped when a suspect is booked into jail on felony charges. To me, it’s nonsensical. City Prosecutor Marty Conboy has said that in all of his time in office, it’s just always been done that way and that far as he knows we may be the ONLY municipality in the country that does things this way. If that’s true, then that’s silly. I’ve heard vague references from some that say it has to do with double jeopardy or that you can’t go through with a felony case if someone already has been convicted of misdemeanor charges stemming from the same incident. I suppose you’re getting warmer as far as an explanation that makes sense goes, but go ahead and put me on the side of the line that says, "A change to that rule of thumb is badly needed." The most glaring instances when this "rule of law" flies in the face of justice is when a felony charge is accompanied with the misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest. As you know, resisting can be enhanced to a felony after a conviction on the misdemeanor charge. The most heinous example involves an assault on an officer where the suspect was ultimately allowed to plead guilty to attempted misdemeanor assault on an officer (didn’t think there was such a thing). This suspect had been previously charged with numerous assaults. The resisting arrest and obstructing charges were immediately declined, of course, leaving the resisting unavailable for enhancement now that the suspect was given nearly no punishment for punching an officer in the back of the head as he walked away. And now, what possible motivation does this suspect have to change his behavior and not act in this manner in the future? None. In my opinion, ALL charges stemming from an incident should be a package deal…no matter what. Were that the case, this suspect would have been brought to justice and not given the Christmas miracle he instead received. This pick-and-choose method of chargeable offenses is goofy at best and doesn’t serve the best interests of law-abiding citizens.

And lastly, I wish I was left-handed.

We don’t have ‘em all so be safe out there, huh!

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