Watching from a distance, I was pleased to see the people of Randolph vote for a pause in the local police-shopping process. I live outside the tiny area of suggested coverage, but I did the math anyway: six weeks of no cops in town has saved the Randolph people close to $50,000 so far. Another six weeks of thinking about it will save another 50 grand. Real money still in the town’s pocket, and a chance for folks to discover that a heavy local police presence does not prevent crime.
The police we have had simply respond to crime, usually a few hours or a few days after the fact, most often taking a few pictures and letting you know that there is nothing that can be done, really. Sorry. Maybe leave a light on outside? Get a locking gas cap?
What I have noticed in the last six weeks is that there is no longer a nice new SUV in the Orange County Sheriff’s Department colors, usually parked at the firehouse, or sometimes pulled up behind some older-model Subaru with two wide-eyed kids in the back seat, and a young mom in tears at the wheel, wondering how her $14-an-hour job will be able to pay the $300 ticket she just got for rolling through a stop sign, driving 34 in a 25 zone, or for not having her rusty car wearing a current inspection sticker.
Seeing those folks pulled over never made me feel safer, and I never took any pleasure in seeing tax dollars spent on further grinding down the local people at $300 a pop. I’m happy that I don’t see that now. I hated seeing that.
I do think about safety and crime prevention. I drive pretty slow myself, I lock up my stuff when I can, and try to not tick people off. I’d likely stop and try to help if I saw someone at risk. I’d like for us all to be safe.
But the crime I worry about — things like domestic violence, child abuse, cruelty to pets and wildlife, like families being hungry, or freezing because they ran out of propane — those crimes were never prevented by that patrol car parked at the firehouse.
Public safety spending should address the real dangers of life in Randolph, and you do that with education, addiction services, and by relieving hunger and poverty. There is a lot of evidence that a good safety net and a close sense of community provide more safety than a few guys with guns handing out tickets. That’s the kind of safety I’d like to see more of. Good neighbors, kindness and concern.
Gary Hillard
Randolph