They want more police, but resent the benifits and pay required to recruit quality people to be officers.

They want police with more experiance, but resent the public safety retirement required to convince officers to do this job for more than 5 years.

They want police to risk their lives for them, but resent the public safety death benifit.

They want police to be safer, unless it adds 30 seconds to their response.

For the record, I agree with the policy, its just the attitudes towards cops on here that irritate me.

ANd to second what angryman said….compared to almost anywhere in the South, we have it good here.

Though a description of an interaction with the Garden City Police Department during an odd pretext stop, this piece [ http://theboisepicayune.blogspot.com/2008/12/garden-city-police-department.html ] provides insight aplenty into the empathy and charity I have for professional law enforcement officers.

Just because it’s an “old song” doesn’t make it a bad one. The Ten Commandments are kinda old; but I hear tell they’re kinda pertinent and popular. Even today.

As far as the 15th & Washington cleaners “incident”…

You seem well appraised of the laundering habits of the Boise Police Department. However, while I can’t attest to the particulars of the Officer’s dirty laundry, the aforementioned incident did indeed happen about a year and a half ago and was promptly phoned in to police dispatch (non emergency line) to lodge a non-official complaint.

It evidently bears stating – again – that I have the highest regard for police in general, and the vast majority of BPD Officers in particular.

I do not think that the interests of good cops and the community they serve need be mutually exclusive, and happen to believe that accreditation would serve the best interests of both more effectively than the current state-of-affairs, more economically and with more teeth than the “Empire Building” at the Ombudsman’s Office.

P.S. My “Old” argument was to disband the BPD and contract the Ada County Sheriff’s Department for police services (as is already done in other Ada County Cities); but thanks to the patient counsel of BPD Officers Casey Hancuff and Downtown’s “Officer Joe”, I came to the conclusion that that was not necessarily the best solution for our city.

EDITOR NOTE–Not really on topic, but we understand the cleaners will be doing a single stop pick up and drop off at the new Sailfish location with no coppers driving to the cleaners.

For one, the response you are speaking about is by the fire department. For two, when my house is on fire, I hope every unit comes just as quick as they can. For three, when large fire trucks are going fast, (or even the speed limit for that matter) it takes them some time to stop. Since they are going to a fire, they are required to run lights/sirens. If an accident occurs, and they weren’t using lights AND sirens, guess who gets in trouble? They do. Sorry you were so disturbed. Think about the family that no longer has a home.

A few years back, a Garden City Cop actually ticketed an On-Duty Boise Cop for an accident he caused because he ran a stop with no lights or siren.

Accreditation of the Boise Police Department by CALEA [ http://www.calea.org/Online/AboutCALEA/Commission.htm ] would go a long way to bring the BPD in line with accepted policies and procedures used throughout law enforcement, along with increased citizen control and oversite.

I’ve lived here a long time and I’ve never heard of a cop busting in on a rape in progress. Most rapes are never reported because it’s usually a relative doing the raping. Homeless rapes are rarely reported and the cops don’t come running for that. How many rapists let you call 911 first?