I viewed the last County Board meeting, including the segment on electric scooters.
Appears there's a massive number of complaints from residents about "free range" electric scooters and complete lack of enforcement of regulations and stipulations about electric scooter operation on Arlington's streets, sidewalks, trails, etc.
One has to ask what's occurring in the Arlington Police Department's chain-of-command? Apparently the same-old, same-old. ACPD's commanders have been on the force for decades. They have a laundry list of things they want to do and things they don't want to do. Which translates into laws and ordinances that are enforced and are not enforced.
Any little thing related to motor vehicles is enforced, like expired vehicle inspection stickers. Anything related to 2-wheel vehicles (except for gasoline engine motorcycles and motor scooters) is not enforced at all.
ACPD Commanders complain the Department is chronically under-strength and can't recruit. Who's responsible for that?
Appears that about a fifth of ACPD employees are out enforcing ACPD Commanders' priorities, the rest of the Department's employees are doing other things. Who set ACPD Commanders' priorities? Ultimately the County Manager and County Board.
Bottom line -- If ACPD's leadership is comfortable with the same-old, same old, we're going to have more of the same.
Ted 22201
20 comments:
Consequently, ACPD is an almost completely reactive police force.
ALL low-ranking Arlington public safety employees are under stress. Just commuting to and from Arlington from where we can afford to live is stressful.
Too many cowboy / cowgirl cops on the force. That's obviously the kind of policing ACPD's senior commanders and the Commonwealth Attorney's office want.
Beware of Ballston Quarter Mall. Not a place to hang out. Restaurants offer expensive bar food. Retail is mostly upscale junk. Cops / Mall Security are already arresting non-trendy people who hang out there on some pretext or other.
Been to Ballston Quarter. A renovated Ballston Common. County Government got suckered into a bail out of the Mall's Owner, Forest City, which was purchased a year ago by a huge multi-national REIT that doesn't need a dime in corporate welfare from anyone. Same junk food and junk retail as Ballston Common. Non-trendy people are NOT welcome. Do what Amazon employees are gonna do... order whatever upscale junk you want on-line (not necessarily from Amazon).
The joke among responsible government activists that if your motor vehicle is rear-ended by someone on a scooter or bicycle while you're stopped at a traffic light YOU'RE in big trouble is no joke. ACPD is becoming completely punitive towards motor vehicle owners and operators.
Agree that ACPD's long-time senior commanders are responsible for mediocre pay and benefits, high turnover, an under-strength force which has become almost completely reactive, high stress levels among lower-ranking ACPD employees, and cowboy/cowgirl policing.
I blame the Limo Libs aka Beyer Auto Group 'Progressives' who have controlled the County for decades who want their fellow Oligarchs to live here and no one else. ACPD moved away from Arlington and then helped the so-called 'Progressives' remove the rest of the workforce from the County. Upscale Elite now controls everyone and everything and since the cops don't live here they don't care.
Arlington residents have no information to determine how good / how bad ACPD is. How many ACPD employees get reprimanded, suspended, requested to resign, fired every year, and for what reasons? How many leave ACPD every year and for what reasons, besides pay and benefits? How many excessive use of force complaints filed against ACPD officers? Why so many police responses to calls for service with no action at all taken? What do 2/3 of ACPD employees who do not interact with the public at all, or only occasionally interact with the public, actually do when they're working?
Starting January 1st ACDC Cowboy / Cowgirl cops are looking forward to more overtime for watching more pub brawls get out of control until bottles and punches are thrown.
ACPD is involved in lots of activities outside Arlington, like when a hurricane hits the Gulf Coast. ACPD is also outside Arlington involved in various local activities. At least half the force does little and is counting down the months until retirement.
Has it occurred to anyone that those who control ACPD want an under-strength police force that only responds to calls for service?
ACPD has plenty of resources to enforce the Commonwealth's antiquated marijuana laws, which even the geezers who control the CivFed want changed.
How is ACPD going to handle 5,000 more 2-wheel and 3-wheel electric vehicles in the County within 2 years?
At least half the Force is counting down the weeks until retirement.
How many calls for service to ACPD are generated by Bro, Hipster, and other Millennial antics??
Not as many as will be generated under the incoming County Board's Total Millennialization Program beginning next year.
What's going to happen to A-Town....Item 2 on the County Board's Consent Agenda for December 15th?
Look for a 2-wheel, 4-wheel, and pedestrian traffic mess by June.
More responsive ACPD? STOP arresting people who are dong nothing more than smoking marijuana, often at home in apartment buikdings..a huge drain on ACPD resources.
Post a Comment