Monday, February 16, 2009

The coming calamity: More crime because of less police officers will be worst result of budget cuts

The mayor in Nashville has asked for 10 percent budget cuts from various departments, which means there will be 210 less police officers on the street.

Nashville is a growing city, and its crime rate is ready to explode. That is the consequence of being a major league city. Already, homelessness is a mushrooming problem, with one major tent city and at least 30 others around the county.

CBS News reported last night that other major cities face the same budget problem -- less police officers in the coming year as people lose jobs and become more desperate.

Yet cities such as Nashville make a priority of all the things that don't promote safety in neighborhoods. Pro sports take, they do not give.

The mayor here, while preparing to cut 210 police officers, wants council approval to build a $600 million convention center. The debt service on that from taxpayers will be at least $12 million per year, and that's before police or schools get one cent.

The crime chickens will be coming home to roost. And those of us who do not live in a gated, secured community will be more at risk to being victims of crime in a down economy and amid more desperate lives.

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