Sheriff, BRPD Must Be Fully Funded

By Woody Jenkins, Editor Central City News

 Last week, for at least the 10th time in the last couple of months, a Central resident told me, “I don’t care about Baton Rouge!”

We had been discussing the Baton Rouge City Police, the shortage of 150 officers, and the BRPD’s remarkably low pay scale.

“I don’t care about Baton Rouge or their police,” he said.

Really?  I asked him if he work-ed in Baton Rouge or owned a business there.  He said yes, he works there and his father owns a business there.

“So you work there and your dad has a business there, but you don’t care about whether there is adequate police protection in Baton Rouge?”  

He thought about it and said, “Well, maybe I should care. I didn’t think about it that way.”

Yes, he should care. All of us should.

He thought some more and said, “But out here we pay for our own police through the Sheriff’s office, and Baton Rouge should do the same thing!”

“So you feel like you pay for the Sheriff’s office?” I asked.

“Of course, we do!” he said.

I continued, “Did you know that property owners in the City of Baton Rouge pay $37 million in taxes to support the Sheriff’s office?”

“Well, I didn’t know how much,” he said.

“Did you also know that the Sheriff doesn’t patrol in the City of Baton Rouge?  In fact, you seldom see a Sheriff’s vehicle in Baton Rouge.”

He said, “Well, I hadn’t thought about it but I guess that is true.”

“So, my friend, you’re only paying part of the cost of your police protection. The people in Baton Rouge are paying the rest.”

“The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s office receives $90.6 million a year in property taxes, and the citizens of Baton Rouge pay more than 40 percent of that, even though Sheriff deputies don’t answer their calls.”

“So if property taxpayers in Baton Rouge stopped paying for law enforcement out in the parish, there would be a $37 million hole in the Sheriff’s budget.”

He said, “Wow, I didn’t think about it like that!”

The reality is, in East Baton Rouge Parish, we’re all in this thing together. We have a consolidated form of government, and it is essential that basic services be provided in all parts of the parish, but especially law enforcement.

Otherwise, there will be anarchy and chaos.  Our lives and property will be insecure, and we will not be able to live here.

It is true that there is a shortage of 150 police officers in Baton Rouge.  Have you considered why?

Mostly, it all goes back to money.

We’re simply not paying BRPD officers a living wage.

Of course, if you want to de-fund the police, you might be happy with that.  

Let me share with you a message I recently received from a Baton Rouge police officer with seven years of service.

He is highly respected in the department and has been honored for his service.

He wrote, “After seven years, my salary is $45,000.  We have five small children, and my wife has to stay home to take care of them.  We are very frugal and pinch pennies, but we can’t pay our bills.  I have worked extra duty but it’s very tough with all these kids. I never see them.  As much as I love this department and the officers I work with, I can’t afford to stay here.”

$45,000. 

Think about that. It’s below the poverty level for a family that size.

The federal poverty level for a family that size is $48,650.

The officer said he and his wife dream of buying a house, but they don’t even quality to buy a starter home after seven years at BRPD.

How can we in good conscience ask men and women to put their lives on the line everyday for the great privilege and honor of earning a salary below the poverty level?

It’s very difficult to find people today who are drug-free and physically and mentally fit enough to serve as a police officer.  When we find someone like that, we need to pay them and keep them.

The officer said he’s received an offer to work for another department in a nearby state and to start at $75,000 doing the same thing.  He doesn’t want to go but he’s wondering how he can afford to stay.

Whether we are talking about our Sheriff’s deputies or the BRPD, we have to pay them a living wage.

Do you truly “Back the Blue”?

Well, what does that mean to you? To me, the first thing it means is paying them a living wage, so they will be there for us in our hour of need.