Never Trust a Cop Without a Mustache!
Dateline: Chattanooga, TN
Times Free Press
To most people, mustaches haven’t been “in” since shag carpeting and lava lamps were considered stylish.
But in law enforcement, scores of officers across the county, including Chattanooga Police Chief Freeman Cooper, Deputy Police Chief Mark Rawlston, Hamilton County Sheriff Billy Long and Chief Deputy Allen Branum, sport fuzz on their upper lips.
“When I think of a police officer, I think of a guy with a mustache,” said Chattanooga Police Department spokesman Sgt. Rick Mincy.
It was only in recent years that the sergeant shaved his own ’stache — and only because it was graying. “That was like one of the requirements when I came here,” he said.
Even the online slang dictionary urbandictionary.com has an entry for “cop stache.”
“If a cop doesn’t have a mustache, he’s a rookie,” quips the entry. It offers this advice: “Never trust a cop without a mustache!”
Aaron Perlut, executive director of the St. Louis-based American Mustache Institute, said the end of the 70s, to a degree, was the death knell for the mustache.
“(Among) the few souls brave enough to continue wearing mustaches were those in law enforcement,” he said.
Wearing them even while out of style “indicates a strong sense of self and a strong sense of self-confidence,” he said.
Portrayed — and parodied — on television and in movies for decades — think “NYPD Blue,” “Reno 911!” or “Beverly Hills Cop” — the connection between mustaches and police officers has not gone unnoticed.
Entering the words “police mustache” into a Google search yields 827,000 hits. A number of those are online question-and-answer forums or blogs devoted to the topic.
Some online posters surmise the trend began with lawmen in the Wild West, and others with European military officers who maintained the style when they became police officers and constables upon returning home from war in the 1800s.
Others see police mustaches as a result of “peer pressure,” a “barrier … psychologically … between ‘us and them,’” or a “flavor saver for their donuts.”
The average Chattanooga police officer is a bit more matter-of-fact about his facial hair.
“I wear it here,” said Sgt. Tommy Meeks, pointing to his lip, “because I don’t have any here,” he continued, gesturing toward a balding scalp.
Chattanooga Fire Capt. Eddy Williams said mustaches are equally as popular among firefighters, who according to popular folklore began sporting hair on their upper lips to filter smoke in the days before the modern breathing apparatus.
“I think police officers do it just to emulate firefighters,” Capt. Williams said, noting that he has had his mustache since 1974 — “longer than I’ve had my wife.”
Sheriff’s Sgt. Robert Starnes says his mustache makes his “baby face” look more mature. Sheriff’s Lt. Ron Winkler, on the other hand, believes his makes him look “young and sexy.”
Sheriff’s Deputy Bill Whiteside says the police mustache has become a symbol of edgy authority to some.
“During the 60s, it was a rebellion-type thing, and it just carried on over into the profession,” he said.
Daniel DeVries, a hair designer at J. Smith Salon on Signal Mountain, sees mustaches as a “macho thing.”
“It tends to be military, macho,” he said. “It’s definitely the opposite of metrosexual.”
Chattanooga police Officer Wayne Jefferson agrees.
“I think it’s a man thing more than anything else,” said the subtly mustachioed officer, who added that he shaves, trims and regrows his periodically for a change.
Mustache makeovers are in fact common among officers looking for a way to express themselves through physical appearance, according to Sgt. Mincy.
The upper lip has become sacred territory for police, he said, as it is one of the few places — in public view, at least — where male officers can govern their own appearance.
Most law enforcement departments across the country, including the Chattanooga Police Department and Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department, prohibit officers who are not working undercover from maintaining facial hair other than mustaches trimmed above the lip line.
The sheriff’s department policy even specifically prohibits “Fu Man Chu and handlebar styles, etc.”
So, facing restrictions on clothing, earrings, hair and sideburn length, visible tattoos and even fingernails, officers are eager to cultivate a bit of personality on their faces, Sgt. Mincy said.
The right to self-expression, however, comes at a price: mustache maintenance, cautioned Chattanooga Police Lt. Tim Carroll.
“It’s a lot of trouble, believe it or not, to keep it trimmed,” he said.
Veteran officers hope officers just entering the field will not let the tradition die, Sgt. Mincy said.
“I’m seeing a trend of the newer officers coming in with no mustache,” he said. “But they’re going to grow a mustache before they leave here. … Mustaches never go out of style,” he insisted.
Mr. Perlut also is confident that mustaches are here to stay.
“The current generation is a very expressive generation, and one great thing about a mustache is that it’s a great way to express how you feel,” he said. “This is a great generation to bring the mustache back. We feel like the pendulum is on the upswing.”
Though new Sheriff’s Deputy Mickey Rountree’s fellow officers joke that, at 22, he is too young to grow a mustache, he said it is “just personal preference” not to wear one.
Injured Georgia Officer Begins Physical Therapy
Dateline: Athens-Clarke County, GA
Athens Banner-Herald
Sgt. Courtney Gale wore her trademark puckish grin Friday morning as attendants wheeled her out of the hospital where she was brought 45 days ago, clinging to life.
Dozens of police officers, government workers, friends and other well-wishers broke into applause when the lobby elevator opened, giving most their first glimpse of the 31-year-old officer since a knife-wielding man attacked her Dec. 11.
“Woo-hoo!” and “Go Courtney!” they shouted as she was wheeled to the ambulance waiting to take her to an Atlanta rehabilitation hospital.
“This has boosted everybody’s morale and let Courtney know how much everybody still loves her,” said her mother, Linda Gale.
Parallel lines of clapping and smiling friends – some uniformed, others in civilian clothes – flanked Gale’s path from the elevator to the ambulance outside. Some reached out to touch her or her bed, and others bent down to offer a few encouraging words.
They cheered again as the ambulance left for the Shepherd Center, a renowned Atlanta hospital that specializes in spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation.
Gale was in a coma for two weeks after a man with a history of mental illness stabbed her 10 times, severing a femoral artery. Doctors operated several times and only recently took Gale off dialysis.
Only relatives and a handful of officers and friends were allowed access to her room in intensive care.
“It’s a great day for Sgt. Courtney Gale, the Athens-Clarke County Police Department and the Athens community,” police Chief Jack Lumpkin said. “This is good for everyone’s morale. Sgt. Gale has come light years from when they rolled her into here.”
People started to gather in the hospital about 8 a.m. Friday. By the time Gale appeared nearly two hours later, the lobby was filled with officers from the Athens-Clarke and University of Georgia police departments, the Clarke and Oconee county sheriff’s offices, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the district attorney’s office.
Clarke County sheriff’s Capt. Eric Pozen brought Gale two armfuls of flowers, and county Human Resources Director Harry Owens placed a “Good Luck” placard on her bed.
Gale still faces a long road to recovery, her mother said, but starting rehab at the Shepherd Center is a significant milestone.
“I don’t use the word miracle lightly, but this is a miracle,” she said. “It’s an amazing story. I know I’m biased because I’m her mother, but even just as a bystander, it’s just amazing. Every medical professional I have talked to is amazed that she is still with us.”
Gale uttered her first words three weeks ago, when she told her mother she loved her. Even so, she wasn’t making much sense and struggled to communicate, Linda Gale said.
Now, Gale chats and shows flashes of the sense of humor her family and friends know well.
“When we told her how long it’s been since she’s been in the hospital, she was amazed,” Linda Gale said. “She told us, ‘Merry Christmas and Happy New Year – sorry I missed them.’ “
Randy Garrett, a fellow Athens-Clarke police sergeant and deputy coroner, was on his way to visit Gale Tuesday when the hospital’s lobby elevator opened and there Gale sat in a wheelchair.
“Oh no! Here’s the coroner coming to get me,” Gale exclaimed, according to Garrett.
The two officers shared some shop talk; Gale asked about other officers and goings-on at the police department. She was eager to get out of bed, Garrett said.
“She said, ‘I’d like to run again, but I’m going to have to take it one step at a time – after I learn how to walk again,’ ” Garrett recounted.
Doctors removed Gale from dialysis last week when they saw her kidneys could function on their own and she had recovered enough to begin rehab, Linda Gale said.
Specialists at the Shepherd Center’s brain-injury unit will evaluate Gale, who suffered reduced oxygen to the brain because of blood loss, the officer’s mother said.
“They’ll have a prognosis next week,” Linda Gale said. “She’s reacquiring movement in the arms and hands, and actually has been able to hold food and eat herself, but walking’s not something she’s done. She’s still working to get her body strength up to even attempt some of these activities, but she’s regaining her core strength.”
The police department is saving Gale’s supervisory post in the Criminal Investigation Division’s robbery/homicide squad, according to Lumpkin.
“We have faith we will one day see her back,” the police chief said.
Contributions may be made to a trust fund for Gale at the “Courtney Gale Supplemental Needs Trust,” Attn: Heidi Spratlin, SunTrust Bank, 1022 Prince Ave., Athens, GA 30606.
Gale also will receive the proceeds from a barbecue fundraiser hosted by the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 3 and a motorcycle benefit ride scheduled for Feb. 24.
Living the Life of a Texas Ranger
Dateline: McKinney, TX
Courier-Gazette
The tall, soft-spoken Lee Roy Young Jr. has seen a lot during the 29 years he has worked in law enforcement in Texas, which involved investigating high-profile murder cases and helping put criminals behind bars.
Young, who became the first African-American Texas Ranger in 1988, has investigated cases in Collin, Dallas, Kaufman, Rockwall, Grayson and Fannin counties, and in South and Central Texas. Though he retired in 2003, he draws from the skills he honed while working as a Ranger in his current daily duties as a private investigator in McKinney.
Rangers investigate major crimes as a division of the Texas Department of Public Safety. They assist local prosecutors who may not have their own investigator, Young said.
Neighbors who worked in law enforcement, such as a very large police officer nicknamed “Tiny,” left a lasting impression on Young while he was growing up in Del Rio. He admired men who worked in law enforcement, and had great respect for them. One of his childhood heroes was the Lone Ranger. His experiences contributed to Young becoming a Ranger and state trooper.
“I grew up and had an ambition, or desire, to get involved in law enforcement. In particular, I wanted to aspire to be a Ranger. That was my goal in life,” Young said.
One of the cases he is most proud to have worked on involved helping convict two men for the murder of a 17-year-old boy from Leonard in 2005. The boy lived with his grandmother, father and younger sister, and was the only person in the family who had a job.
One of the men got out of a car and walked up to the 17-year-old’s car, where he pulled out a gun and shot the boy. The men dumped his body near a cemetery in rural Fannin County, Young said.
The reason Young is proud to have helped put the two men in prison for the rest of their life was because the boy was young, had the majority of his life ahead of him, and was the provider for his family.
“The thing that had the most impact was that here was a boy who was 17 who was attending high school in Leonard, had just received his driver’s license. He was going to school and working, and providing for the family, besides what the grandmother got from any assistance. One of the suspects made a joke about the boy having trouble driving the car, which was a stick shift, and they are hard to drive, at first,” Young said.
The two men were convicted of capital murder of the boy and were sentenced to life in prison and charged with capital murder.
One of the wildest cases he worked involved a man who tried to hire him to kill his ex-wife in Smith County, Young said.
“The man and his ex-wife were going through problems with child custody. He went to jail for 40 years,” Young said. “I tried to get all kinds of bits of information from him, and he gave me a down payment of five $100 bills, a photograph of her, address where she lived and worked the route that she traveled to and from work. That information helps to better prove in court that they actually wanted to hire me to kill someone,” Young said.
The man who tried hiring Young to kill his ex-wife told him and the other law enforcement personnel at the scene, “I knew this was too good to be true,” before he was arrested and eventually charged with solicitation of a capital murder.
When asked how he kept a straight face when pretending to be an undercover hit man, Young said he does not know. But he said he doesn’t think the people convicted in the crimes he’s investigated are insane.
“I don’t think they’re necessarily crazy. They think they can get away with something and that’s probably why they do some of these things. They’re probably aware of what they’re doing,” Young said.
Another high-profile case that Young worked as chief investigator was of former Farmersville police officer Jim Theis, who shot the chief of police inside the Farmersville Police Department office in 1995, Young said. Theis opened fire after the chief told him he needed to take time off from work after he shot at a suspect and was not justified, Young said.
“He tried to arrest the chief and fired some shots in the chief’s office, and the chief gets him distracted and goes out the back door of city hall. Theis then goes out the door of city hall and gets a 12-gauge shotgun and fires shots in city hall,” Young said.
Theis did not have to serve any jail time as he committed suicide before being sentenced, Young said.
The 61-year-old Young worked for 13 years as a trooper with the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Highway Patrol Division. He was the first Ranger to have an office in Collin County. Young asked Collin County Sheriff Terry Box if he could have a space in the sheriff’s office and Box gave him a place in the criminal investigations division in 1994. Prior to that, the Rangers who covered Collin County were stationed in Garland and Greenville.
He opted to retire from law enforcement to get a break from the stress of the job and to spend time with his wife, Mary.
“The thing about law enforcement work is that there is quite a bit of stress in that type of work. I spent over 29 years working in law enforcement. I opened my private investigation agency because I wanted to have something to do and I didn’t want to sit around all day and have nothing to do,” Young said.
Young joined the Navy for four years during the Vietnam War. He was a second class petty officer and worked on a destroyer tender. He then earned an associate of arts degree from Southwest Texas Junior College in Uvalde. Young said he attended Sam Houston State University and the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his bachelor of arts degree in sociology with an emphasis in criminology.
After college, Young joined the DPS and worked as a state trooper in Austin, Bryan, Eagle Pass and eventually in Del Rio, where he had graduated from high school. He was stationed in San Antonio at the DPS’ Department of Criminal Investigation. He then joined the Rangers in 1988.
He wasn’t treated any differently when he was the lone African-American in the Texas Rangers because everyone has to have the same qualifications, Young said.
The qualifications to be a Ranger include having at least eight years of law enforcement experience — four of those with the DPS. Applicants must complete a written and oral exam.
Young is also very proud of his Black Seminole heritage. His great-grandfather, Ben July, was a Seminole Negro Indian Scout and fought in three Seminole Indian wars. His ancestors lived in the swamps of Florida, and were relocated to Oklahoma in the “Trail of Tears.”
His work as an ambassador for the McKinney Chamber of Commerce includes attending ribbon cuttings for new chamber members and helping retain and recruit members.
Young can be seen wearing a light-colored cowboy hat, and has a friendly smile for anyone who has a question about the chamber, private investigations, or about McKinney or Collin County.
Honk If You Love Cops
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Nashville judge has given an unusual punishment to a teenager to stand outside police headquarters holding a sign that says officers are “not pigs.”
Nineteen-year-old Austin Bean’s public defender argued Friday that his First Amendment rights were being challenged.
Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Mark Fishburn ordered the teenager to hold a sign reading, “Respect the police, they are not pigs as I stated on my MySpace page” and “There is nothing funny about guns and nothing cool about gangs.”
The order was a condition of the probation the teenager received for a charge of coercing a witness. Bean posted threatening messages against another teenager on MySpace.
Bean will not have to follow the order until his case is appealed.
Let’s Get Physical
ABERDEEN, S.D. (KXMC) Brown County sheriff’s deputy Brian Koens says he feels great after losing 85 pounds this past year as part of a weight-loss challenge.
Marcy Fritz, the nurse for the county jail and the juvenile detention center, had issued a challenge to workers at the sheriff’s office, jail, juvenile detention center and home detention.
In September 2006, about two dozen people started her 16-week program that pits participants against each other to see who can lose the highest percentage of weight.
Weigh-ins were held each week, and the winner gets a traveling trophy a bronze pig on a pedestal. The fifth installment has just started.
In the first four installments, participants have lost around 500 pounds.
A Day in the Life of a Detective
by Sophia Kazmi
Staff Writer
In a narrow, rectangle-shaped room with a single, tiny square window, Detective Mike Norton begins his day. Working in the Alameda County sheriff’s Crimes Against Persons unit, he never is sure how it will start or how his day will end.
On a rainy Tuesday, Norton let us into his world. This is his story.
10 a.m. — Norton begins his day by going through reports to make sure nothing suspicious was overlooked. He usually goes through about a dozen such reports a day.
“We are like goalies; we try not let this stuff get past us,” Norton said.
The four-member Crimes Against Persons unit predominately works homicides but handles other cases of violence or threats of violence.
They work in the Eden Township Substation in San Leandro, which is also headquarters for the sheriff’s investigation and patrol units. Built in the 1940s, the building was originally medical office space.
The building’s electrical system is too old to handle much. Norton’s computer shuts down twice after something — a space heater is the likely suspect — short-circuits the system.
Norton’s squad’s biggest cases are homicides that occur in unincorporated Alameda County. But they investigate any crime against people. One of Norton’s current cases is a witness intimidation case.
A relative of a domestic violence suspect allegedly threatened the victim. Believing the relative may show up at the suspect’s arraignment, Norton and fellow Detective Todd Hoos plan to arrest him
at the courthouse. Norton prints out a flier with information and a picture of the suspect — a man with a bushy mustache and bushy eyebrows.
The arraignment doesn’t begin in Hayward until 2 p.m. Until then, they hit the streets to work on another case.
11:15 a.m. — The wipers swish on the windshield of an unmarked Ford Taurus. Norton and Hoos drive toward the unincorporated Cherryland neighborhood. It was there June 28 that Gary Jones was shot and killed in broad daylight at a gas station at Lewelling and Mission boulevards.
The 38-year-old San Leandro man had just left a nearby medical marijuana dispensary. Detectives believe a gold or silver minivan followed Jones to the station and a van passenger stole the drugs from Jones’ car.
When Jones tried to chase the thief, the van driver shot him and drove off.
Hoos parks the car at the spot where Jones was shot.
Leaving the engine idling, and the wipers moving, he heads inside to talk to the attendant and to hand out fliers about the case.
Hoos returns, telling Norton the attendant already has fliers posted.
Next, the gray Taurus heads to the Paradise Boulevard area, where the getaway van was last seen. Norton and Hoos believe the suspects either live in this neighborhood or know it well.
“If you’re not familiar with it, you wouldn’t know where to go,” Hoos said of the neighborhood.
The detectives have become familiar with these streets. They’ve been here numerous times, trying to spot the suspects’ vehicle or to find someone who knows what happened.
They pull over. The wind picks up speed as they get out of the car.
“You can’t solve cases sitting behind your desk,” said Norton, quoting his colleague Detective Mike Godlewski.
“We’re going to knock on some doors and see what happens,” he said.
They don’t have much luck. People are either not at home, don’t have information, or don’t speak much English.
The two finally hear something promising from two men and a teen girl. The detectives talk at length with them.
Norton says later they may know something that could help the case: “That was actually pretty good contact.”
1 p.m. — Norton, Hoos and the detectives who work both “hot” and “cold” cases have lunch with their supervising sergeant. It’s a squad tradition. They head to Harry’s Hofbrau on East 14th, where the servers know them well.
Lunch looks and sounds like a family dinner, with everyone trying to catch up with one another and the day’s news. There is discussion of a half-wolf dog in Castro Valley that deputies eventually killed and speculation about the New Hampshire primary.
Like any family, there’s good-natured teasing. Someone makes a joke about how another detective isn’t funny. Another one takes a jab when he reveals that he used to watch “General Hospital” with his wife.
Norton, 33, is the one of the squad’s youngest members. He’s a police officer’s son. His background on his work computer screen is a staged photo of his father writing his grandfather a ticket.
But Norton says it was his high school football coach, a San Francisco police officer, who got him interested in law enforcement. After stints in other jobs, he applied at the sheriff’s office 12 years ago. It’s a decision he says he doesn’t regret.
2 p.m. — Norton and Hoos stand outside the arraignment courtroom, on the lookout for the man with the bushy mustache. It looks like the suspect is a no-show. There will be no arrest today.
There is never any guarantee on how a day is going to go. Sometimes there’s a lot of waiting, other times there’s no time to catch their breath.
“It’s either 20 miles an hour or 100 miles an hour,” Norton said.
Before working Crimes Against Persons, Norton worked three years in robbery. In robbery, once a case was done, it was done. In this unit, Norton said, cases stay with detectives until they are solved or until they leave the squad.
Norton receives a call from someone wanting evidence from a 2005 case, or “caper,” as Norton calls them.
“I wanted to do something different,” Norton said. “This is something different.”
5 p.m. — While many people prepare to go home for the day, Norton and the other detectives in his department still have two hours to go. Detectives are scheduled for 10 hours a day, four days a week, but that doesn’t mean those are the only hours they work. Any time a homicide or major case occurs, regardless of day or time, a homicide detective is called to the scene.
But when nothing is going on, it’s time for report writing. The gap between when a homicide occurs and when it goes to trial is generally two years or longer. Defense attorneys will go through reports wanting to know exactly what officers did and with whom they spoke. The reports are detailed, down to the number of people who lived in a house.
Norton started his day going over reports, and it is how he will end his day.
“It’s not the glitz and glamour you see on TV,” Norton said. “It’s reading and going through reports.”
working as a SHERIFF’S detective
Hours: 10 hours a day, four days a week, but called whenever a homicide occurs
Base salary range: $72,217.60 to $92,788.80
Experience and skills: Must have police patrol background and good interpersonal, reading and writing skills. Detectives for units are picked by the unit’s sergeant, the supervising lieutenant and captain.
Ex-FBI agent to head Cook County Sheriff’s Internal Affairs Office
COOK COUNTY – A former FBI agent has been hired to oversee the Cook County sheriff’s internal affairs unit, Sheriff Tom Dart announced Wednesday.
Joseph C. Ways Sr., who was previously the No. 2 agent at the FBI’s Chicago office, has been placed in charge of overseeing internal investigations in the sheriff’s office, Dart said in a news release. Ways will also monitor the sheriff’s hiring practices to make sure they comply with the Shakman consent decree banning politics from most hiring.
As an FBI agent since 1987, Ways investigated white-collar crimes, Chicago street gangs and health-care fraud, according to the release. He also worked on high-profile investigations into former Gov. George Ryan and the Chicago police special operations section.
Proposal would transfer sheriff workers to state
BOSTON – Sheriff departments – one of the few remaining vestiges of county government in Massachusetts – would come under state control under Gov. Deval Patrick’s newly released budget plan.
Patrick wants the state to take over seven county sheriff departments – including the ones in Norfolk and Plymouth counties – that still operate independently.
Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald, whose department has been bailed out by the state financially, hailed the proposal.
‘‘It’s going to take the uncertainty out of the budget process,’’ he said. ‘‘The certainty that it’s going to give us as managers is very big, and the efficiencies that we realize by coming under the state system are going to be very real.’’
Seven other sheriff departments in Massachusetts already function as an arm of state government.
Under Patrick’s plan, which needs legislative approval, the state would take over payroll, health and retirement costs for the sheriff departments in Barnstable, Dukes, Nantucket, Bristol, Norfolk, Plymouth and Suffolk counties. That would make those working in the sheriff departments state employees.
The state also would take over sheriff-department revenues that help pay to run county jails, such as the deeds excise tax on real estate transactions.
With receipts from that tax accounting for up to one-third of total sheriff department revenues, state funding will allow for more predictable planning, McDonald said. In addition, benefit and retirement costs are cheaper under the larger state systems, he said.
Under the plan, sheriffs would continue to be elected and would still manage their own budgets, but they would face increased oversight by state officials.
A frequent McDonald critic, however, said the proposal woult not reduce patronage hiring in those departments.
‘‘It’s still an elected office,’’ Plymouth County Commissioner Timothy McMullen said. ‘‘The sheriffs are always going to control jobs.’’
Plymouth County Treasurer Thomas O’Brien worries that county employees will see their health care co-payments double under the state system.
Norfolk County Sheriff Michael Bellotti said the plan would ‘‘certainly create a more fiscally predictable system for us, so we’re able to know how much money we can spend in any given year.’’
Some see the plan as ushering in the end of county government, which was abolished in 1997 in all but seven Massachusetts counties.
County governments still technically own courthouses that they lease to the state, and they run registries of deeds, which are overseen by the secretary of state, said Noah Berger, executive director of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center.
‘‘It’s a legitimate question whether there’s a legitimate function served by county governments,’’ Berger said. ‘‘For county governments that have been eliminated, the evidence seems to be the function can be performed more efficiently (by) the state.’’
Jeffrey Welch, chairman of the Plymouth County commissioners, acknowledged that county government would have fewer responsibilities without county-run sheriff departments. But he contends that they still play important roles.
‘‘There’s still plenty of regional concerns the county can provide without the vestigial duties of the sheriff department,’’ Welch said.
Tom Benner may be reached at tbenner@ledger.com
70 more police officers for N.S. as part of provincial plan
SYDNEY, N.S. – Another 70 police officers will be hitting the streets of Nova Scotia as part of the provincial government’s plan to get tougher on crime.
Justice Minister Cecil Clarke said Friday every municipality will benefit from the program.
“These new positions will help us combat crime in those areas identified as high priority in our new strategy,” said Clarke, who was in Sydney to provide an update on the plan.
“If we are serious about cracking down on crime, we must put resources behind our words and this is a commitment to do that.”
Under the current allotment, Halifax will get 14 new officers, while the Cape Breton Regional Municipality gets four.
The other 52 additions will be spread around the province.
The government said the new officers will combat drugs, proceeds of crime, thefts, assaults and child pornography.
The province has pledged to fund 250 new officers by 2010.
The latest positions announced Friday will be available starting April 1 for RCMP and municipalities to recruit and fill.
