Joel asks: "And wasn't there some deal with the Mpls Schools to have Park Police act as school liaison officers?"
Yes, the Park Police have taken over the School Liason Program. The problem is, alot of experienced, Mpls police officers retired from the city and were immediately rehired by the Park Police. Also, many have retired and become Transit Police. By doing this, the officers, most of whom are on the old Police Pension Fund, can now work towards an additional PERA retirement. Now, before everyone gets angry, this is perfectly legal and the officers who get the opprtunity to do this would be nuts not to. Needless to say, these are also some of the city's best and most experienced people. We have also lost officers who are on PERA to go to other jobs, both in and out of law enforcement. This job has become much more stressfull over the last ten years or so. The stress is not only on the officers, but has increased even more on the families. As I have said before, when officers are tried in the media and their names are bandied about (even their home addresses in one case), this impacts heavily on their families, esp the kids. If you add to this the feeling, real or not, that the City, Police Dept and esp the people don't give a darn about them or their families, you can't blame them for asking if it's worth it all. One question I have not seen asked is not only why are so many officers leaving, but where are they going when they leave? It would be interesting if the City surveyed these people and asked them why they left. Also, what could the dept and city have done to retain them? I think you will find that pay had little to do with their leaving. One of the main comments I have heard from officers who have left Mpls and gone to other law enforcement agencies is "Gee, they (their new employers) treat me with respect and actually seem interested in my ideas and experience". Tell you all anything? My biggest question to KARE 11 would be, what the heck took you so long to notice? Anne McCandless Jordan REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
