Tucson has a public safety problem. While the average number of crimes per capita has been sinking since 2000, violent crimes have increased over the past 10 years (evident from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program). This poses a very present problem to us Tucsonans. Not only does that diminish our quality of life, but it affects the equity we have built here — our life’s work.
Improving public safety is not an easy task. Approaches that appear straight-forward and easily applicable are hampered by communication problems between Tucson’s public safety officers and the population at large. This is a direct reflection of how the image of law enforcement is suffering nationally after certain highly publicized incidents occurred that put excessive blame on enforcement officers and caused widespread backlash in the population.
I believe public safety in Tucson is polarized, with police leadership on one side and the officers in the field on the other. This predictably breeds resentment, suspicion and discontent — a sad situation since our officers run high risks and never get a break. They are required to follow policy imposed on them from above and get punished for not doing so. However, when they follow directives and things go awry, they risk being held personally responsible for those policies and get persecuted by the public for doing so. If you add low pay to the mix, you can understand why we have a problem hiring new officers and retaining current ones. All of this is bad for morale. Do you remember why you decided to follow your calling to become a police officer? Surely not to be used as a pawn in a larger political game.
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I understand that, and I feel the same way. I have also stepped up, not to be used as a political pawn, but to actively help my community. I see a unique opportunity here to improve public safety for citizens, for officers and for leadership.
Policing has to be improved in Tucson, not only in numbers, but also in method. The mutual trust between city leadership and police officers has to be strengthened through communication and initiatives creating transparency. As City Councilman, I intend to set up meetings with the leadership of the city and our police force to create a forum in which the participants can convey what they need to succeed. I will engage with police leadership to understand their concerns, and work with the officers to understand their daily challenges and bring issues to the attention of their superiors. I want to promote incentivization of good officers to stay, and I’ll advocate for increasing the amount of officers to an appropriate level for policing a city of Tucson’s size. Last but not least, I’ll do my best to facilitate communication between the community and law enforcement so that they can best understand each other’s perspectives and needs.
The budget line allocated for public safety has been increasing (we have yet to see what will happen next year) and I am working on a plan to divert more to human resources. This not only extends to allocating more money to officers’ salaries, but also to the establishment of Protected Crisis Mobile Teams — CMTs protected by armed officers. This idea has been raised in the past and needs to be implemented. Compound teams ensure adequate measures for low-level incidents and the presence of protective force if the incident escalates. This solution guarantees a continued place for police officers while ensuring appropriate response and safety.
Living safely is not a minor issue. We have to make changes now to bring about a future in which violent crime trends downward again. Essential to that is an improvement and strengthening of the three-way relationship between Tucson citizens, police and city leadership. This will make our city safer, our lives more enjoyable and raise our property value. This can only happen in alignment with good policy from police leadership and with the support of the citizens of Tucson.
Val Romero, Independent, is a candidate for the Tucson City Council in Ward 6.