Location
I drive around St. Johns County quite a bit. As a former teacher, I find it interesting that the teachers' union there has argued that teachers can't afford to live where they teach, and with median home prices of half a million bucks, I can understand the sentiment. That's why I'm surprised how many parked JSO vehicles I see in St. Johns neighborhoods whenever I drive there. Unless there's just a lot of 3rd shift philandering, I'd say quite a few JSO officers live in St. Johns. And I'd really like to know how many. I'm not suggesting we go back to residency requirements for teachers, fire, and police, but I sure would like to know how much of my Duval tax money is paying for expensive living outside of a county that's so big that its suburbs are already built into it's borders. I don't want to stalk officers and get exact addresses, but I'd just like to know what percentage of cops live where they don't serve and protect. At least one cop, the officer who got busted trying to pick up minors while working out at the gym, was living in St. Johns County. And I guess Mike Williams was (illegally) in Nassau County. Even if we never get the exact numbers, I'd like to at least suggest cops who live long distances from where they patrol maybe commute with their own vehicles like everyone else who makes the decision to live nowhere near where they work. Or maybe Florida's constant flow of bonuses to law enforcement could be partially contingent on where they reside.
Windows
I don't think this bothers most people, but I own a convertible, so I think of myself as an authority. When my windows and top are open to the world around me, I notice a lot more. In fact, I think it's one of the main selling points of convertibles and motorcycles. So if it's true that open windows allow the occupant of a vehicle to notice more of what's happening around them, wouldn't it make sense for police officers to mostly have their windows open? I guess it's possible the cops I generally see speeding past me are always on calls or speeding to where they believe crimes might occur, but somehow I don't believe that's the case. When I was a kid in Milwaukee, the police force was given Brewers baseball cards to distribute all summer. As a baseball-obsessed kid, I went up to every cop car I could find to ask for cards. And most of those windows back then were rolled down, maybe because kids were always calling out to them. Sure, I can see the problem with the cards and kids and safety, but the point was probably also to get cops to where they could use their own senses in order to prevent crime. Most modern policing seems to rely heavily on technology: computers, radios, shotspotters, and all the gadgets. However, might I suggest cops walking a beat or driving around with windows open is a more preventative method of policing than knowing a loud noise set off an alarm in a crappy neighborhood. When I was in London, walking down the street, there was a situation where a man was driving next to a police vehicle. The officer, whose windows were open, yelled over to the driver of the vehicle to "Mind the pint" because the driver was apparently drinking a bottle of beer. The driver agreed to behave, the officers did the duty to protect and serve, and the day went on. Here, you don't have any interaction with the police until they pull you over, but maybe if cops just told people their tail lights were out or their music was too loud before turning it into a nerve-wracking incident, then we'd avoid some unnecessary situations. I know, people want numbers to back things up, and an officer who pulls 20 people over per shift, issuing 15 tickets, somehow looks more useful than an officer who purposefully avoids pulling anyone over in favor of educating them. Maybe it could start with a no-ticket Tuesday each week. Maybe I'm way off base here, and maybe police powers that be have figured out that interacting with the public in a positive way just causes people to try to get away with more crime.
I wanted to add that at least some of the brand-new cruisers in Jacksonville have very dark tint on the windows. This is in addition to them being gray and totally blending in traffic. So, it's hard to identify a police car when I need one and hard to see if they see me when I want to flag them down. This seems more like what a Communist secret police force would order as their vehicle of choice. I'm sure it keeps some sunlight out so that the AC doesn't have to work as hard, but I think it's my right as a citizen to see police officers, as well as those they're arresting in the backseat. At least the officer.
GPS
GPS is useful to authorities, but it can also be used to ensure authorities are following rules. How fast is that cruiser going without emergency lights or sirens? Is it parked outside an ex-girlfriend's apartment for an entire shift (this apparently happens)? Is it driving every single night to St. Johns County? Is it taking the family to Disney? Is it parked outside a gym with lots of teenagers? This isn't the 1950s, and someone doesn't have to get on the radio to ask, "Car 54, where are you?" We can know where Car 54 is at all times, and not only should top brass know this, but every resident of Duval County should be able to access archived details. I always tell my kids that if someone is following them, drive to the nearest Wawa, because those are the safest spaces in the whole city based on police presence. But I could be wrong, and a map showing where each JSO vehicle was for every shift would enlighten me.
GPS would also show us how many hours police vehicles spend sitting at construction zones while crimes occur all around the city. I've heard many out-of-town people say that they saw more police cars in one night than they see in a year at home because every construction zone seems to have at least two police officers twiddling their thumbs near it. I've seen up to 15 JSO vehicles just watching construction crews work on a given night driving the 95 and 295. I'd love to know how that's a good use of our police force when you could set up a homeless guy on a bike with a strobe light to do the same thing.
Speed
The officer mentioned at the beginning of this diatribe caused a couple of accidents as an officer, which shouldn't be surprising to anyone who watches JSO cruisers speed past them. If an officer is going to fly past me when I'm doing 10 over the limit (probably going 85 or 90), I'd appreciate a little heads up. The only other people who fly by me like that tend to be in Nissan Altimas that were probably involved in a crime. GPS can be used to at least question speeds. I am all in favor of cops getting to crime scenes quickly, but I also think that when they speed around the city, they probably miss plenty policing opportunities. I remember going to the Milwaukee County Zoo and seeing the teenagers hired to do something but who seemed to only fly around in UTV golf carts, seemingly never doing anything but racing past hot moms and little kids. JSO drivers remind me of those teens.
Indepent Advisory
Florida doesn't want us to question our officers' actions. Independent advisory commissions can be useful in identifying problems with public perception of the police force. We've been told by our governor that all police officers are perfect, but if a few aren't, the even more perfect elected sheriff will find them for us. But the DUI cop who was already a bad driver is a perfect example of how the elected top cop might not fully disclose in order to serve and protect his own officers. But I'm sure it will take a state constitutional amendment in order to get local citizen oversight back into Florida, so that's a decade away at best. Until then, let's hope JSO wants to be more transparent because it's the right way to police.
