Should Police Chiefs Be Elected or Appointed?

[jmra]

[C-dub]

I think that police chiefs should be appointed and that sheriff's should be elected. I'm not sure it makes a big difference whether or not the chief is appointed by the mayor or city manager, but this way there is one law enforcement agency elected by the people and another by the government.

However, I also think that U.S. Senators should not be elected by the people like congressmen are. They should be elected by the state's legislators to represent the state. I have no idea if this was in anyway the intention for police chief's versus sheriff's when all that was initially setup in this country.

[rbwhatever1]

Appointed Police Chiefs of Cities are easier to fire and be held accountable by the Leaders of the City. US Senators used to be this way before the Republic was hijacked with the 17th Amendment. It used to be easy to recall them at the State Level to answer for State Business. Try recalling a US Senator now.

Appointed is much better in a true Republic.

[Tracker]

Appointed Police Chiefs of Cities are easier to fire and be held accountable by the Leaders of the City. US Senators used to be this way before the Republic was hijacked with the 17th Amendment. It used to be easy to recall them at the State Level to answer for State Business. Try recalling a US Senator now.

Appointed is much better in a true Republic.

Yep. Three things happened in one year, the income tax, the federal reserve, and senators being elected by general population instead of being appointed by the state legislatures to act as lobbyists for their states. Now they are replaced by professional lobbies with more narrow minded interests

[rbwhatever1]

Appointed Police Chiefs of Cities are easier to fire and be held accountable by the Leaders of the City. US Senators used to be this way before the Republic was hijacked with the 17th Amendment. It used to be easy to recall them at the State Level to answer for State Business. Try recalling a US Senator now.

Appointed is much better in a true Republic.

Yep. Three things happened in one year, the income tax, the federal reserve, and senators being elected by general population instead of being appointed by the state legislatures to act as lobbyists for their states. Now they are replaced by professional lobbies with more narrow minded interests

A very dark period indeed. Jekyll Island should have landed some people in prison with the Federal Reserve scam null and void. Maybe one of these new Presidential Candidates will undo the "Three Amigo" messes you referenced....

[Jim Beaux]

This illustrates what can happen when low information voters have a say in hiring management.

This constable manages 7 deputy's and clerical staff. I heard him being interviewed the other day and it was pathetic. (video at bottom of this post)



I dont remember the details but I understand when he was elected in 2012, neither he or his staff had any certification.

In 2013 there still was no certification so the state shut his office down. I wonder if he and his staff received a salaries during this time. What kind of liability was the county exposed to during this time?

A state law enforcement agency ordered the closing of Jefferson County Precinct 1 constable's office because elected Constable C. Nick Saleme or any of his appointed deputies are currently certified as Texas peace officers, a requirement.

Saleme is taking certification classes, but none of his deputies has worked as a certified peace officer within the last six months so their certifications have expired, said Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick.

http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/ ... 282454.php

Today it's even more outrageous.

Judge Branick believes it's a duplication of services. That's why when Precinct 1 Constable Nick Saleme went before commissioners' court last July asking for $10,000 to pay for radar guns, Branick voted no.

Branick said, "We got DPS, Beaumont PD, and the sheriff out there during traffic, I don't think we need to add a fourth agency."

12News did some digging and found out that in the first six months that Precinct 1 has had radar guns, only seven traffic tickets have been given.

Saleme responded by saying, "My paperwork has tripled, serving the papers, so I had to back off on the radars." Saleme is referring to the required duty constables have of serving court papers.

Another concern is that even though Saleme ended up spending his extra help fund on radar guns last year, he was allotted money for extra help again this year, and it was not spent on extra help. It went to travel, overtime and more equipment purchases.

Branick said, "I think it's our ongoing obligation, someone requests a budget transfer to another line to buy something else, we look at those very closely."

Constable Saleme said even though his deputies have not given out many tickets, they have made stops and given warnings, and he says that alone has alleviated traffic problems.

Saleme also claims the ticket books are expensive, so he doesn't want to waste them.

http://www.12newsnow.com/story/29347264 ... nforcement

[talltex]

I'm thinking one improvement might be, if an official is elected by the people, then there might be a swifter remedy to an unsatisfactory score card - like changing your vote next time. With an "appointed" official, you have a much more complex route up the political ladder to fix things.

Yep. It could be. Depends on some things like who makes the appointments, how well the process is managed and how big the city is. Each city can (and does) have its own method of government. I think in some cities the retiring police chief can actually appoint the new chief. All across Texas is a patchwork of different city and county governments, which can cause some confusion on well the process works for the average citizen.

I've never run across that anywhere. There is really very little difference in the operation of city governments in Texas as every city has to have their bylaws and statues and ordinances approved by the Texas Secretary of State and there is a set structure as to the number of Aldermen, the time and date of the regularly scheduled monthly meetings, how that meeting will be conducted, strict stipulations as to the time and place public notices must be posted giving the agenda of items to be discussed, and so on, and on ,and on. The City Administration cannot even vote to change the specified time of the meeting from 1:00pm to 1:30pm without passing a resolution to amend the bylaws and sending it to the Secretary of State for written approval before making the change. And everything done has to conform with the Texas Open Meetings Act requirements. The outgoing Chief often makes a recommendation or endorses someone from the department that has worked for him to replace him, but the power to hire and fire always rests with the City Council (which includes the Mayor who is the Head of the Council). A City Administrator/Manager in a larger town may conduct the background work and brief the City Council on each candidates qualifications , but the Council will have the final decision on who is hired and under what terms.