December 10, 2005
Uncle Ron Wants You
King County is short on front-line law enforcement personnel. KING-TV reports the sheriff's department has 21 vacancies to fill for deputies, and another 54 deputies are on leave. (Hmmm).
"For some reason, the job of being a police officer, who knows why, is not as attractive as it used to be," said Sgt. John Urquhart.
Indeed, John. Who knows why?
They're offering special incentives if you can make it through training.
Posted by Matt Rosenberg at December 10, 2005
12:07 PM | Email This
1. Exactly! Why WOULD anyone want to be a policeman in THIS city and county?? Anytime you even do the RIGHT thing for the RIGHT reason, you get falsely accused of something else and made to feel that doing the RIGHT thing was the WRONG thing. It's ridiculous. I'm amazed that ANYONE is still willing to do this job, in light of the abuse our officers take from extremists in this county, in addition to the lack of genuine support they receive from certain public officials.
You can't keep persecuting the police and expect them to come back for more forever.
I'll bet it's a more attractive job in areas where people actually believe that policeman have every right to protect themselves (and others) from obvious danger.
I'd suggest that ALL public officials who can't figure out why no one wants to do police work for them look in the mirror and get honest with themselves.
2. It also occurs to me that when officers see that a fellow officer who has behaved very badly on the job gets big bucks to 'retire', they must wonder why they themselves are trying to do their best on the job and why isn't THAT rewarded? SO much wrong in this town when it comes to leadership toward the rank and file officers.
3. NAACP of Seattle - always making sure that we be oppressed and shit.
I have yet to see a shooting of any black person in this town that wasn't immediately labeled as racist by the local black community.
4. and just when you thought seattle couldn't get any more ludicrous...here it is.
gee...i wonder why people don't want to be seattle cops? what a mystery.LOL.
5. Could it be no one wants to work for lackey Rahr?
The sad part is they are REALLY going to get the bottom of the barrel in the next round of recruits.
6. Lets see. $21.00/hr for dealing with the people they do. A system that says you can retire at 53 and go to work somewhere else because you have no insurance. Finally, everything you do is evaluated by somone who would never walk in your shoes.
Sounds like a winner job to me. I think it would be better to drive a garbage truck and probably more profitable too.
7. The interesting thing about this news story, which isn't really much of a news story at all, is that there is no attempt to define why recruitment is down. I suspect Urquhart knows and isn't saying, and the King 5 reporters simply forgot to ask.
I don't think this story affects the public safety of most residents of King County because the vast majority of you have municipal police departments to watch over you. We in rural, non-incorporated King County are affected.
8. I guess the thing that leaps out at me is what are all the "leaves" for? This is one of the hidden facts about police budgets, they end up with a lot of people scamming the system and going out on 'disability'. This should get more exposure and investigation.
9. rb, I hear your points on the "leaves". Maternity leaves for fathers? How many weeks does it take to "bond" with a child? Some of these are silly.
As for disability retirement, the rate since 1977 is 2% per year of service and again no insurance. I guess if you get shot in the spine in your second year on the job you will make $150.00/month with no insurance. I think if my spouse were looking for a job I would encourage them to look elsewhere.
10. rb -
A lot of those "leaves" are probably military deployments. I've heard a couple of departments are hurting because a lot of cops are also in the Reserves/Guard and deployed at the moment.
huckleberry -
It actually does affect public safety for a lot of folks... several cities (Shoreline, Kenmore, and Newcastle are a few) subcontract with the Sheriff's department for their law enforcement.
As to why recruitment is down... you've got an economy that's taking off with lot's of oportunities. $45k a year to have a 9-5 deskjob, or $45k a year to put up with the crap the Sheriff's department has to at 2am in the morning... what would you choose?
11. Let us not forget that the Seattle PI has just finished a season long hatchet job on the Sheriff's office that has basically painted to the residents of all the Puget Sound that all the deputies of the King Co. Sheriff are boozing, drug-dealing, pimps who abuse little kids on the reservations and are protected by the FOP and the Sheriff themselves. Is it right? No, but that is alright since no one in law enforcement is right only the poor criminals who just happened to have lived in problem areas and it was societies fault on a whole that caused them to become criminals. At least that is what I am told when I listen to the news and read the papers.
12. Mike H.
I think you are right about the pay scales being low... Why does the Sheriff pay her deputies more, instead of giving a vacation bonus? Does she think the local economy will tank soon?
13. We need to encourage all liberals to wear tee shirts and post signs on their houses that read "I am a liberal. Choose me."
This would save police work, court time and jail space because we know these liberals would not want a poor misunderstood person arrested, tried and jailed.
14. We need to encourage all liberals to wear tee shirts and post signs on their houses that read "I am a liberal. Choose me."
This would save police work, court time and jail space because we know these liberals would not want a poor misunderstood person arrested, tried and jailed.
15. I love the police--I support them--but I don't envy them;
like the fireman's entrance test, carrying a body up a ladder or some distance, every cop today has a fat, predatory lawyer on his/her shoulders and is trying to run as fast as can be;
no wonder they are exhausted; above that, their own brass steps back & prosecutes them like today's soldiers--a no-win; they deserve better! Bless them all! and thanks--
16. Gregg said
"Sounds like a winner job to me. I think it would be better to drive a garbage truck and probably more profitable too."
You're darn tootin
$150.00 a day and all you can eat
17. Not many people are saying it, because it would be politically incorrect to criticize a woman sheriff in this town, but perhaps the reason is the Sheriff herself. She was not supported by the union, or association, or whatever the unionized deputies call themselves. That's gotta tell you something right there.
You guys had a chance to vote someone in that would have been a huge asset to the department and who probably would have attracted a lot of talent. But, you let the local media scewer him because he called 911 on his ex-wife for her abuse, but the HE was the one that got arrested. Even though he was cleared of the charges, many of you were afraid to vote for him.
It's sad that all it takes is a false arrest by a system designed to beat the patriarchy out of you, and so many people can't see through the gender politics of what really occured.
On top of the fact that nobody wants to work for paper pusher Rahr, they also don't want to work in a department that punishes people for working overtime. It's amazing to me the nonsense in the papers criticizing deputies that were willing to come work additional hours WHEN THE DEPARTMENT ASKED THEM TOO!! Silly Seattle people are just jealous that these guys made money, instead of sitting around on their butts trying to feel environmentally virtuous or something.
On top of all that, they have these gender feminists running around the apartment imposing themselves into people's marriages and personal lives.
It doesn't sound like a place any guy would want to work.
18. It sounds like the room is split between the deputies having poor compensation for their work (are you actually considering increasing the wages and benifits of public employees? doesn't sound like the conservatives to me) and people not wanting to work for Rahr because she is a woman (wasn't she the conservatives' beloved Reichert's choice to take over?), I am getting confused as to which side the conservatives are on. My opinion is that they aren't compensated nearly well enough for what they do, Reichert and Rahr hurt the profession by failing to prosecute Ring to the fullest extent of the law, and there is a negative public image problem.
My suggestion (I know nobody cares, but what the hell) raise compensation to a level that will recruit top-notch candidates, make the job tough to get, and be very strict with your employees, not hesitating to put them on probation to investigate them after a problem and firing them if they are found to have done something wrong.
19. What you say sounds reasonable to me, Patrick. But tell me, do you think that Rahr would agree that your conditions do not already exist?
20. A very reasonable comment, Patrick, but how does this help us blame everything on Liberals and women in the workplace? You sure have a lot to learn about how reality works with all these commie/socialist moonbats in the Seattle area, not to mention the man-hating lesbian Harley Riders. Sheesh, Patrick! When are you gonna grow up?
21. Patrick and Foggy I agree, It would be nice to know that he people behind the badge are being compensated fairly. I want then to have adequate health insurance benefits as well if they injure themseves while jumping into another Mardi gras riot or WTO revolt to protect the citizens. Oh wait, The Mayor and the County Executive don't want their law enforcement folks disrupting First Amendment protests like that. They want them breaking up Illegal lap dances and violators of the 25 ft. smoking ban instead. Maybe we can do with fewer officers after all.
22. ...doesn't sound like the conservatives to me) and people not wanting to work for Rahr because she is a woman (wasn't she the conservatives' beloved Reichert's choice to take over?), I am getting confused as to which side the conservatives are on...
That's the problem with straw men, Patrick...they tend to come apart easily.
23.
This is a nonsense story. Police positions are uniformly oversubscribed and there are enormous numbers of qualified personell all over the world who could fill these positions. This is a case of a bureaucracy narrowing the "qualifications" so that they artificially decrease the supply of workers and have an excuse to inflate compensation that will often go to their own friends and relatives. Nobody should believe this nonsense.
24. I see in the PI that uncle ron wants the
sheriff to clean out her department. Why doesn't he do the same with his crooked and fraudlent elections department--starting with himself? ? ? ?
25. They are likely to need more volunteers after Ron Sims had his meeting with the Sheriff telling her to 'weed her garden.' If I was thinking about applying, I would have to think again after reading about the Sheriff exchanging names with Ron Sims on who she had targeted to fire and her getting his 'hit' list of names.
26. Maybe the Sheriff has a complaint to file against Ron for telling her to "Weed her Garden" These days she could have him removed for Harrassment!
27. I've worked for as a Deputy for about 20 years. It is harder to get qualified recruits but then again it has always been hard. We no longer scrape the bottom to get warm bodies like we used to. We also have a very hard field training program that weeds out questionable candidates, we dont have the luxury of putting them in a two officer car to be "helped" like some other departments. The pay isn't really an issue. With longevity, benefits and overtime I make a very good living. If people think they are going to get rich in this job then they dont have what it takes to do this job...."Police work, LOVE IT or leave it". The P.I.'s recent hatchet job on the department does not help recruiting. I thought you had to go to the Globe or Enquirer to get that kind of quality reporting(My brother's girlfriends' cousin has a sister who says her bestfriend was molested by a Deputy in 1990 or was it 95??).
Ron Sims' recent statement about targeting individual Deputies is quite disturbing. I agree with other's on this blog that Ron needs to get his house in order first before he tells Rahr how to run things. Here's something simple to start with Ron and it won't even hurt, fulfill the public disclosure requests for election records!!!! I think Ron "talking" to Rahr and publicizing it is a good tactical ploy to shift attention away from himself and the Logan escapades. I wonder if I'm going to be "targeted" now for daring to speak my mind????