Jane Howard on Public Safety

By Jane Howard

Public Safety is the goverment's primary responsibility. Law enforcement must have the resources needed not only to battle crime but to meet the new challenges of terrorism.

In addition to local crime issues like gang activity, drugs, and school violence, we are faced with the threat of international terrorism in America. It is more important than ever that local police and sheriffs' departments work with state and federal law enforcement agencies to coordinate their intelligence, planning and networking to respond to this larger threat while at the same time they continue to execute their duties at the local level.

Faced with these challenges, Califoria law enforcement will be expecially hard hit during a time of budget crisis. But Public Safety must remain a priority.

Emergency preparedness is essential to fight the terrorist threat. We must make sure that increased recruitment and training of law enforcement personnel match the needs of the community. Local police, public health workers and safety personel must be properly trained and equiped to respond to terrorist attack.

Local and state law enforcement agencies must be up-to-date sharing information on criminal and terrorist activity. Coordination, communication and collaboration are key. We must restore funding for technology grants to give law enforcement the tools they need for this new threat while not neglecting non-terror crime prevention. We must make sure that local law enforcement departments are able to coordinate with other police and county agencies to network on programs like Rural Crime Unit, gang supression, and drug trafficking.