As much as I like and respect the IMPD and (to a lesser extent) the MCSD, excuse me if I don't go all into crisis over the prospect of having to provide for my own security. Even now with 1000+ officers on the street you folks generally just pick up the pieces afterward. You complain about backup being more than a couple minutes away; in parts of other counties in the state, backup is MANY minutes away. I get the safety issues involved; I understand the financial issues involved - at least some of them - but the fact is, we could have 10,000 cops on the streets of Marion County and you still would be complaining you need more help - and we'd still have murders and breakins and robberies.
Perhaps when the economy improves we'll be able to afford to hire more police, but face it guys, the Department of Public Safety isn't the only part of the City/County government that needs attention badly and you've had a high priority for years and years now.
Um, it's more like 350 to 400 officers actually patrolling. Fact of the matter is that the VAST majority of tax payers look to us for protection and we bust our butts trying to provide it. Sure in a perfect world every one will take care of themselves. But how YOU'D like it to be is NOT how it really is. Burglary in progress? Hey, deal with it yourself. Even if you are not at home. Robberies, not my problem. You see someone driving off in your car? Go run after them and call us when you get them, we don't need to go looking for it. Husband beating wife? People fighting, as long as it's not me why would I care? It's not as much that we need MORE money but the money we did get was wasted by an inept leadership. And that ends at Ballard's feet. How about the 30 million dollar east district rollcall/homeland security building at the old Eastgate Mall. IT"S NOT EVEN HALF FINISHED!! No soap, no toilet paper, a crater filled parking lot, girls at the front desk getting sick (possibly from the construction dust created by the construction on the other half of the building. The front reception area is not secure like our old rollcall and so no one can walk in and ask for help like the old one. Entire sections of the interior set up for detectives had no power or internet connection to hook their computers up to do work...they run extension cords. It will never be finished. We never asked for this nor needed it. Millions WASTED and Ballard could either care less or knew so little that he was in the dark. But hey, what would you know about this other than what is spoon fed to you in the media? We are just a bunch of complainers because nothing is wrong and all will be fine. It just truly shows how little the public knows about what we do and how we do it.