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Law, Justice and Public SafetyWritten by Pam EllisonDiscuss this on our discussion forums One of the constitutional charges to state government in Minnesota is to protect the public safety. As I travel the state, I am finding that we can make some much-needed improvements. Conceal and CarryI am a solid supporter of Conceal and Carry. Currently, I am in the application process for a permit myself. I believe that there is data to support that trained citizens permitted to carry a concealed weapon avert crime.Law Enforcement Officers Should Not Pay for EquipmentI was shocked to hear that our law enforcement officers are called upon to purchase their own guns, flashlights, nightsticks and body armor in order to do their jobs. With the starting salaries of these professionals, this is not acceptable. I believe the state should cover the costs of these mandatory items by purchasing in bulk and save our officers these costs. When the state hires an administrative assistant, that assistant is not required to purchase their own computer or office supplies, why then would we expect such a thing from our law enforcement men and women when they are putting their lives on the line every day to protect and serve.Neighborhood Meetings and Crime Watch PatrolsI live in a low crime neighborhood, but recently we have had incidents of vandalism, tagging, and garage break-ins. Because of my concerns and the concerns of our neighbors, we have had two meetings in the past year about how we as citizens can be more vigilant and work with the law enforcement officers to see that the neighborhood maintains its safety. Setting up Crime Watch in the neighborhood is a step that can further protect our neighborhoods and send a strong message to would-be criminals that we will be watching and reporting any suspicious behavior.GPS - Global Positioning SystemsWe can make more efficient use of the personnel we currently have on the street by installing (GPS) Global Positioning System in each squad car. This enables the precincts to call up the position of any squad car at any time to determine efficient use of the officers time, as well as search for a car whose position is not known when an emergency call comes in. We can then dispatch officers with more knowledge of the current position of officers in relation to the call location.With GPS in place it is more feasible to send patrol cars through neighborhoods on a more regular basis, so that any would-be criminals would observe a presence of police when these random trips are taken. A presence of patrols daily in our neighborhoods would thwart many criminal acts and would make the criminal assess the risk of the activity more thoughtfully. Common Incident Command StructureThe state must invest in a statewide system that allows a police officer or a fire fighter to be able to switch from using the local communications channel to the state channel to secure more assistance when needed and to keep informed of emergent situations and the status locations of all units involved. Currently we have one statewide channel that is only monitored in the daytime hours because no money has been invested to take care of the overnight hours. We need to fund 24 hour monitoring of this channel.Juvenile Probation SystemCurrently, the juvenile system is too easy on juvenile offenders. One reason our schools are unable to perform can be traced to the lenient way in which we handle our juvenile offenders. It is difficult at best for law-abiding citizens to protect their families from our youngest offenders due to the protection of their identity under the law. We treat juvenile offenders as "misguided children" when in fact many are hardened criminals as early as eight or ten years old. We have gang members who are parenting their children to become future gang members. Drug lords teach by their example, their children to do as they do. What can we do to keep these parents from completely engulfing their children in the sea of crime they have chosen to swim in?Gun Safety Classes for JuvenilesMany children are growing up in homes where guns are readily available. We need to offer after school programs for gun safety where children are taught what a gun is capable of and how to notify someone if they have found a gun in their homes or on the streets. We need to make certain our youth understand the grave consequences that come from playing with guns and make certain they know what to do in situations that arise where guns are involved. Education is the best way to keep our children safe from the dangers of firearms.Lower the legal age of adulthood for Criminal OffensesI would like to lower the adult age for crime to age sixteen with the ability for the County or State Prosecutor to level a Selective Prosecution Charge for adult status all the way down to ten years of age. Many adult criminals are using juveniles to be involved in their criminal activity because of the weakness of the juvenile system. They know that if the young person used in their criminal activity is picked up, they know the time they serve in jail is greatly reduced than that of an adult.Tougher Sentences for Adults contributing to the delinquency of Minors It is a sad situation, but gang members raise children within the gang and contribute to an entire new generation of gang criminals. We need to add a mandatory 10-20 years on top of any sentence for gang members and leaders that contribute to the delinquency of a minor. Known gang leaders and other criminals should have to surrender children they are raising for placement in homes of law-abiding people. Insane or Mentally Unstable CriminalsLaw enforcement officers often find themselves confronting mentally unstable criminals. We need to make certain we handle these offenders with the utmost care while still protecting our law enforcement officers and citizens. Professional training in the needs of the mentally ill as well as education about the services and housing available must be part of the education of a law enforcement officer. We also need to be certain that the appropriate institutions are secure and state of the art.Stop Educating Prisoners in JailIn the juvenile system we need to make certain those held in detention will continue their high school studies. Beyond the age of 21 however, I do not believe we should be providing any K-12 education beyond a GED.Prisoners lose their right to vote when they are incarcerated, they should also lose their right to be educated. Prison is not supposed to be a place you wish to go, we need not provide "perks" in prison. If our law-abiding children, who excel, pay a high price for their education, why would we reward criminals by providing their education free? Access to Statewide Criminal RecordsMy goal is to fully integrate all city, county and state criminal records to better serve the needs of our law enforcement officials. Precious time is wasted when this information is not available to our officers on the street. My goal would be to work towards this end, by using the Governor's discretionary fund to do so if necessary. I would hope the legislature would have the same concern and agenda. It is an absolute priority to better serve our citizens and hold the Public Safety in high esteem.State of the art squad cars should be a goal we all pursue. We need all cars outfitted with a computer that allows officers access to the information they require out in the field. I am committed to see that we are able to achieve this goal, and am willing to host several fundraising opportunities to make this a reality for our law enforcement officers. Prevent CorruptionWe all know that human beings make errors either by omission or commission. I intend to make certain that all enforcement officers that are guilty of mishandling their power be put on notice that I will weed out corruption in the law enforcement and the judicial system. The protection of the citizen comes first. If a citizen has been injured, we must be vigilant to see that justice is served and the citizen's complaints are reconciled.Enforcement of Humane treatment of AnimalsI am completely against "puppy mill" operations that breed and raise dogs in deplorable conditions. When these operations are identified, we need to get the enforcement we need to the property and get those animals that are endangered out of the environment and into the safe haven of the Humane Society to nurse them back to health and adopt them out to good homes. Severe penalties must be in place to prevent this practice, and to discourage those who decide to breed animals from going into the business on a whim. Our society can be judged by the way in which we treat those in our society without a voice, whether it be in the Human Kingdom or in the Animal kingdom. |