Benton County looking to raise sales tax for more police officers
BENTON COUNTY, Wash. -- Police departments across Benton County are busier than ever. They're answering more calls and solving more crimes. But, the Kennewick Police force has 25 less officers per capita than it did in the late 90's. The city can't afford to hire more, so they're turning to you. Benton County's last pitch for a crime tax failed five years ago.
KEPR asked, "What are the chances of you getting new police officers?"
Sgt. Lattin responds, "That'll be up to the citizens to decide."
Law enforcement in the Tri-Cities intend to push a rise to the sales tax to pay for more law enforcement. A so-called crime tax would add three-tenths of a penny to the current sales tax of 0.083%.
So for example, a Walmart receipt, say, worth $300, add an extra 90 cents to that.
That three-tenths of a cent could be significant. Analysts expect it to bring in more than$4 million dollars a year. It would be spread throughout Benton County. As the largest city, Kennewick would get the lion's share more than $800-thousand dollars. The added costs seems worthy to some.
Tyler Thompson of Kennewick says, "To me, it's not a big deal. I don't think you're going to miss that money. Protective services, fire, police, that's always good use of your money."
But not everyone agrees.
One woman tells KEPR, "No, I think people are having a hard enough time affording the bare minimum. We already spend enough and pay enough taxes."
Benton County is the only county in our area *without *some sort of public safety tax. A recently-passed crime tax is paying for a new jail in Franklin County. And in Walla Walla County, it built a new police station. In Yakima County, it's helped the Sheriff's Department despite shrinking budgets.
Kennewick says this tax is necessary because the city has grown -- but the police department hasn't matched that pace.
And despite the fewer officers per capita, Benton County has seen a decrease in crime. So why is the tax necessary?
Sgt. Lattin explains, "For our investigators, they are constantly getting new cases. They have a very large case load."
Police say serious crimes keep officers behind a desk -- and not in the field. They believe it's time to catch up with our growing community.
It's not just about adding cops. If a criminal justice tax passed in Benton County, 40% of the money would go towards hiring city police. The other 60% would pay for the Benton County court system and jail improvements. The plan would put the issue before voters in the Spring.
KEPR asked, "What are the chances of you getting new police officers?"
Sgt. Lattin responds, "That'll be up to the citizens to decide."
Law enforcement in the Tri-Cities intend to push a rise to the sales tax to pay for more law enforcement. A so-called crime tax would add three-tenths of a penny to the current sales tax of 0.083%.
So for example, a Walmart receipt, say, worth $300, add an extra 90 cents to that.
That three-tenths of a cent could be significant. Analysts expect it to bring in more than$4 million dollars a year. It would be spread throughout Benton County. As the largest city, Kennewick would get the lion's share more than $800-thousand dollars. The added costs seems worthy to some.
Tyler Thompson of Kennewick says, "To me, it's not a big deal. I don't think you're going to miss that money. Protective services, fire, police, that's always good use of your money."
But not everyone agrees.
One woman tells KEPR, "No, I think people are having a hard enough time affording the bare minimum. We already spend enough and pay enough taxes."
Benton County is the only county in our area *without *some sort of public safety tax. A recently-passed crime tax is paying for a new jail in Franklin County. And in Walla Walla County, it built a new police station. In Yakima County, it's helped the Sheriff's Department despite shrinking budgets.
Kennewick says this tax is necessary because the city has grown -- but the police department hasn't matched that pace.
And despite the fewer officers per capita, Benton County has seen a decrease in crime. So why is the tax necessary?
Sgt. Lattin explains, "For our investigators, they are constantly getting new cases. They have a very large case load."
Police say serious crimes keep officers behind a desk -- and not in the field. They believe it's time to catch up with our growing community.
It's not just about adding cops. If a criminal justice tax passed in Benton County, 40% of the money would go towards hiring city police. The other 60% would pay for the Benton County court system and jail improvements. The plan would put the issue before voters in the Spring.
we have way too many officers staffed for this area. they are basing their statistics off of per capita and realistically is should be based off of how much wasted time and money is being spent on the over abundance of officers just driving around and sitting in empty parking lots playing sudoku. in any other city you see police now and then. here you pass at least 3 or 4 of them on your way home from work. I sat in front of my business for one hour one evening and counted 15 police cars drive by the street in front of me. they are getting to the point of digging into peoples business to find trouble. thats harrassment. they need to keep the public safe from obvious dangers and pursue serious crimes. not go looking into peoples private lives to try to find trouble. now a days the justice system isnt about right or wrong or justice at all. its about who can win. getting convictions. guilt or innocense is irrellevant. its a fight to win. I am so sick of driving by cop after cop after cop. and seeing them everywhere doing nothing and just sitting in parking lots. we are way over staffed. the law enforcement community is telling you "oh its important to increase law enforcement and make more jobs." but its not. they are just looking out for themselves. they think they run this place. they tell the law enforcement community that they are securing more jobs and making this business opportunity for more people to become cops. they are making a business out of our budget. ya they combat crime, but they can acheive that with less officers. think about it. how many police do you see on a daily basis? driving around or sitting. we simply do not have enough going on to keep them all busy all the time. what law enforcement says isnt reliable because the only thing they care about is keeping their jobs and watching out for themselves. and theyll use the tact that they are making a difference. not true. they just dont want to lose jobs. thats all it is. this is kennewick. not LA. we do not need a big police force. we can employ 100 officers for this area and be totally fine. realistically 70 -80 would even work but 100 staff jobs on patrol force would suffice. yet we have around 200 staffed. way too many. just think. everytime you see cops just sitting around or just cruising around thats you paying for them to do nothing. we can better spend the budget improving schools and fixing the parks and programs for youth. Â Heed my words because they only care about them and their job security. we dont need more police. we need to cut some.Â
no more police.Â
No, what is needed is a solid "Castle Law" giving Citizens the clear cut right to stand their ground and protect life and property.. Police are mostly clean up agents after the fact.. When seconds count, Police are minutes away.. Perps who are wounded in the commission of a crime should have no rights to sue victims for those injuries, ever..
Self defence determination should be expedited in the judicial system to minimize hardship on the intended victim..
People NEED to realize that Police carry guns to protect themselves in order to go home at night.. We citizens have the very same right to self preservation in using a gun.. The Second Amendment gives us the right and because we have been fed a line of crap about police protection..
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* The courts have consistently ruled that the police do not have an obligation to protect individuals, only the public in general. For example, in Warren v. D.C. the court stated "courts have without exception concluded that when a municipality or other governmental entity undertakes to furnish police services, it assumes a duty only to the public at large and not to individual members of the community."(Warren v. District of Columbia, D.C. App., 444 A. 2d 1 (1981). See also Richard W. Stevens, Dial 911 and Die (1999) which gives the laws and cases in all 50 states to support the statement that government (police) owes no duty to protect individual citizens from criminal attack.)
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* Of the 2.5 million times citizens use their guns to defend themselves every year, the overwhelming majority merely brandish their gun or fire a warning shot to scare off their attackers. Less than 8% of the time, a citizen will kill or wound his/her attacker.(Kleck and Gertz, "Armed Resistance to Crime," at 173, 185.)
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More Investigators (Police) is not the answer, use the money to train the public in gun self defence and implementing a sound Castle Law..
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While people may balk at added taxes, perhaps they should take notice of the upswing in street crime in Kennewick and Richland, and how many cases are requiring assistance from other counties. Perhaps this would be a reason to consolidate the 2 counties and tri-cities area into 1 municipality join together all these small agencies to combine man power.  But this is just the meaningless thoughts of a forward thinking college student.