Public Safety

By Jerry L Duncan

Our commitment to public safety cannot wavier. While much progress has been made we are not there yet. The support of my candidacy by all of Fresno's public safety organizations and leaders who can endorse shows that I get it.

Our Police Department's outstanding efforts at fighting crime have had a major impact on our improved quality of life. As the Council member for District 6, I will never support any reduction in spending for the Police Department. I have been and will continue to be a strong voice of total support for these brave men and women who risk their lives everyday to keep our families safe.

In the near future, the Federal Government grants that have been helping us to increase the number of police officers will begin to expire. We are faced with a tremendous challenge to insure that we are able to replace these funds if the grants are not renewed. While the paying off the City's pension obligation bonds will help considerably, we cannot just stand by and wait for this to happen. Our goal must be not just to keep our current level of police protection, but also to increase it. 

We must also develop a genuine commitment to our Fire Department. We are currently below the minimum required staffing levels for our fire department to be able to respond in the timeliest manner. Not only has this had an impact on their ability to save our property from a fire but it even has had a negative impact on their safety. There is a desperate need for more modern equipment. To not provide our firefighters with the proper staffing and tools they need to protect us is totally unacceptable. There are also fire stations with leaking roofs and in need of such things as painting. I will commit to do whatever it takes to get this taken care of.

We must continue to support neighborhood stations and community policing. This will insure that our police department can become even more of a community partner and be accountable to the needs of the neighborhood that it serves

Some people talk about our lack of crime prevention programs. We have in place outstanding crime prevention programs that are making a big difference. As a community we must increase our support for such organizations that encourage police/public partnerships and communication. Programs like Crime Stoppers, Police Activities League, Neighborhood Watch and the Citizens on Patrol are but a few examples of how we as citizens can be involved and make a difference. I have been personally involved with several of these organizations and will continue to do all I can to support them and the job they do. I hope you will join me.

I would propose that our police and fire department web sites be boosted to allow for improved communication and to be a resource for two-way interaction with citizens.

I also believe that we must develop an easy to remember three-digit non-emergency number for citizens to call. Too many 911 calls are of a non-emergency nature. Having an easy to remember number (like 311 for example) will help our Public Safety Services become more efficient and provide a better response time. 

We must also insure the people who risk their lives for us every day are compensated fairly and are given the proper support from their City that they deserve. Each and every person who is involved in our Public Safety are heroes and deserve all the help and respect we as citizens can give to them. We owe it to them