[poll id=”6″]
TLS Poll: Does Lakewood Need More Cops?
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What would you rather?
Be dead and not have to pay property taxes?
or be alive and pay TAXES?
This is what is known as a false choice. As wikipedia explains “The presentation of a false choice often reflects a deliberate attempt to eliminate the middle ground on an issue”. No one is in favor of higher crime. The job of our elected officials is to find areas to cut (and they do exist) while maintaining or improving the safety of our town. Anyone can come in and tell us the only way to fight crime is by raising taxes, that’s not what they were elected to do. If the only way out that they can find is to raise taxes they should step down and allow others that are willing and able to make tough and unpopular decisions to govern.
it really depends what these cops are going to do. If they are just going to spend their time giving out tickets for minor infractions, then it’s not worth it. If they would be assigned to really fight crime – most def hire more. This town is crime ridden. In NY cops are stationed in high crime areas like Harlem. We need cops posted in raintree, ridge etc. not to give out tickets (in NY most slight infractions are ignored unless its a time they are trying to raise money) but to scare off crime. Lakewood cops are understaffed for the amount of crime we have. We need more to fight it – as long as they really fight!
#2 ! Git Gezugt !
I agree with you LkwdGuy. Taxes don’t have to go up in order to make this town safe, the town needs to find waste and eliminate it. They also need to start collecting taxes from everyone who should be paying it- the landlords who cheat the system, etc. The population of this town has gone up, why hasn’t the tax base? Find the money, it’s there.
How about less fireworks and more cops?
Hire more housing inspectors and then we wont need more cops.
This isn’t a fair choice… how about cops being in the right place at the right time..
How about same grea cops with a different attitude, leadership and direction?
Hire more cops and cut from other wasteful departments. (moderated)
we need better use of the cops and resources we have. i drive on rt 9 on a nightly basis and see police cars next to each other just sitting and chatting instead of patrolling our streets. HQ should track live the movement or lack thereof pf all on duty cops at all times and make the officers answereable why they sat in the fire station parking lot together for hours etc.
You cannot do a pole with the two questions you ask. Anyone with a brain would never vote on this issue only asking the two questions mentioned
WE JUST NEED THAT OUR WONDERFUL LPD TO BE WORKING AT ALL TIMES . WHY ARE THERE ALWAYS COP CARS SITTING SIDE BY SIDE IN A QUIET PARKING LOT AND JUST HAVING FUN . I MEAN 8 HOUR SHIFTS SHOULD BE WORK TIME LIKE ANY OTHER JOB !!!!!!!
Meyou:
You’re right. It’s pretty difficult getting votes out of a POLE!!
I think we don’t have to spend on more & more cops. I think the problem is that our police force is not properly trained to fight gangs, which is the underlying cause of most of the high crimes in lkwd. They just need to hire one former experienced top rated antigang expert to join our police force, to help lead an antigang mission in our policeforce…
We need more librarians. Every time I go to the library, there are like three or more librarians, all surfing the internet.
I think if we had six librarians, three could surf the internet, while the other three help us with a smile.
#3; this isnt NY, you like it there maybe you should consider moving there. Small infractions, no matter how small, are still infractions and the fact that the officer is issuing a summons for such an infraction is in fact them…doing their jobs. Stop breaking the law.
#8; Thats like demanding the sun to be warm. Cops aren’t mind readers. They dont know when someone is going to commit a crime. An officer patrols an assigned area, of sometimes many square miles…alone. Especially in a town 93k strong, thats a huge task. The fact that bad guys DO get caught, on a regular basis it seems, shows that Lakewood cops….are doing their jobs.
#11; You love cops and yet you bash them. Not sure what your job consists of , do you work in an office? Cops do, its called their car. What kind of hours do you work, 8? LPD works a 4/3. thats four 10 hour days. This meaning, when someone calls about change being stolen from the car they left unlock, an officer has to write a report, which they do in their car. And when an officer takes his lunch break, he eats, in his car(this is more true for the night shift when no food establishments are open). Also the “couping” that you see (when two cars are parked together) is an officer saftey issue. One cop watches the other cop’s back while their attentions are elsewhere i.e. writing a report.
yes we need more cops, but thats just part of the problem. knowing what the problem is the first step to solving it , we have a town that makes it attractive for crime in the first place, why do I say that well just look arround at the housing issue with no control in single family home rentals .Many a neighborhood that once were conducive for families to raise their children are now turning into slums .Landlords who will rent to anyone with no concern other than collecting $$$$$
When those who run this town see the root of the problem and take action to prevent a problem in the first place that will go a long way to turning things arround for this town like the saying goes an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure . Unless that takes place it will be an ongoing problem here .
#15; Most crimes are not primarily because of gangs. Gangs have been in Lakewood for decades. The rise in crime is do to the economy, people are struggling…badly. People are losing their jobs, thier homes, their cars and are getting desperate for money. Not saying gangs dont create crime, they do, but hiring a single “anti-gang” expert sin’t going to solve much of anything. More cops equal a higher officer/civilian rate which means more cops on the street. A more visible police presence will deter gang activity but lets face it, your never going to get rid of gangs nor will you ever get rid of crime. But we can sway the scales towards the good guys again….
Will a librarian save your life or catch a thief??? How stupid can anyone be????
#15- I agree that more training would be helpful but fighting gangs is NOT a one man job.The officers we have don’t have the bandwidth to do much more than what they do now- that is respond to calls and write their reports (while in their cars)… We need more bodies on the street to fight the fight.
smarter policing
agree with 6 & 7
hire more cops but limit them to patrol and no writing tickets
We need lower taxes and more cops. If we give less abatements we can have both. How much money was lost on the abtements and how many cops could have been hired with the lost money.
I once heard that lakewood has the highest pay for cops, if thats the case we should cut their pay to match nearby towns cops and used the extra funds to hire more cops.
It looks like the township is trying to cash in on the recent shootings to have an excuse to RAISE taxes, and they won’t even hire more cops, what happened to all who promised to lower our taxes???
to number 20 speak for yourself cause obviously you didnt think of understanding the comment
lock them up and blow them up then you wont have to hire more cops
we dont need more cops . its how you allocate them. you dont need 10 cops on clifton and10 other giving parkin tickets all over town. let more parole the bad neighborhoods
LPD doesn’t make more than surrounding towns. and they have a lot more to deal with. Besides that, Toms River has at least 50 more cops and slightly smaller population. Oh and they make more money too.
I read the articles and comments on TLS every day. It is an excellent, informative site. What becomes clear, however, is that the definition of “crime” is being ignored. We cannot select which laws of our country to obey. If we drive dangerously, talking on a cell phone, or ignoring stop signs, or passing on the wrong side, we should get tickets and pay fines. It just might wake us up before we maim or kill someone.
Why isn’t there an option hire cops no tax increase. instead of raising taxes make cuts in abnormal spending and paychecks!!!!!
No need for more cops.
Put a cop car with 2 cops parked in them in the high crime areas.
Arrest any gangsta for the pettiest of crime and we’ll clean up Lakewood
To you’re kidding! says:
well said, we have some making comments without any knowledge of what the duties of an officer are ,it encompasses many things ,one of which is motor vehicle violations , sounds like some who post here think that should be ignored. That make zereo sense
#3 NY has all the meter cops giving out all the IMPORTANT tickets and LKWD has the regular cops doing the dirty work!
its all the same corruption!
I think we definitely need more cops to write tickets. The driving conditions in Lakewood get worse by the day, just imagine what it would be like if people had no fear of getting a ticket. Crime is just one issue that is threatening the safety of Lakewood’s residents. Statistically the average resident of Lakewood has a much greater chance of being hurt in a car accident than from some other gang related activity. Issuing tickets in this town saves lives!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
probably dont need more cops just the right people to make sure the cops are focusing on the right things!
why every time you get pulled over three cop cars surround you. In NY this doesn’t happen,
Take those cops a put them were the crime is.
Simple.
To # 16 Yid
Thanks for the humorous approach.
# 20- Tsk tsk tsk.- take a closer look, please.
To TLS what kind of poll is this?
If you did not mention higher taxes, most folks would overwhelmingly choose more OFFICERS.
Most citizens are against higher taxes because we know that there is much waste and misuse in the way the taxes are spent.
So, tto avoid higher taxes on folks that are already Taxed Enough Already ( T.E.A.) the answer would be – ‘No More Officers)
Most folks know that the tax monies of Lakewood are spent wrongfully .
Lakewood should compile a list of WHO received a tax repeal/ lowering of taxes- with names included- to show the rest of the taxpayers who it is that are getting the breaks.
There needs to be a change at the top- a big change.
An independent audit is needed. I’m quite certain lots of funds could be re-directed .
I’m also of the opinion that the town govt is soft on crime …this approach keeps complaints down and covers any acts of discrimination that occur when one group is singled out but other favorable groups are excused.
An invisible hand should come down from the sky and sweep the entire lakewood govt out and replace them with real leaders.
To # 18- I agree. Some folks walk around with eyes wide shut.
You know you can never make everyone happy but sometimes everyone should stop and think what they are saying..Am I a patrolmen in the township of Lakewood? NO but I know many of them and respect what they do. To those that think a police officer is just sitting around all the time while they are driving by, well you have to know they are allowed lunch breaks and do stop from time to time to pass on information to each other. This way you don’t all hear everything on the radios you all have. I am sorry but if everything was always broadcast over the radio, how many more people will be in their business..Just thank them for their time, and putting their lives on the line for you and go about your business..It always comes down to what they aren’t doing, or who they aren’t protecting..They protect us all 24/7 365..Come On
#37 statistically speaking a traffic stop is the most dangerous thing an officer can do. Back up is there for that reason. If the originating officer feels safe he will break off his back up, the same goes for the backing officers if they feel there is no danger they will break themselves off. cops are trained in those situations. if you once saw 3 cops at a traffic stop they were all needed there to protect you and to make sure that everyone goes home in one piece. you cant compare a small town with 120 cops to a city of millions with thousands of cops. like i said before, ny is a nice place, why dont you move there
Lets see the stats.. What is the Cop/Resident ratio in other towns similar to Lakewood?
Police should be in two separate units.
Traffic police and crime fighting.
This way, Lakewood’s safety won’t be comprimised by police using their strength enforcing traffic laws and patrolling for crime will be fully inforce at all times.
Cops need to fight crime!
# 38 I disagree. Then their going to need two captains two secretary’s … more bureaucracy red tape.. photo-ops.. dinners award ceremonies etc.. Not that I am against all of the above, just it cost us more $
The gangs are not easy to infiltrate.The ones operating in lakewood are an offshoot and a branch of the Big ones they are not always commiting crimes but what they will do is take orders from the higher ups.They will then commit the crime regardless of how many cops in order to go up in the ranks.The only way to fight is to make it ILegal to be part of a gang.anyone who does any crime as an initiation should be punished harshly.
more cops, more tickets, more arrests and less complaining from our fellow people of lakewood that the cops are lazy and are sitting around. Because their NOT. So wise up pay a LITTLE extra on taxes not a big deal. And lakewood will be safe
Can we do a poll on how many of these voters live in Lakewood? I suspect they live in Arizona. Anyone living in Lakewood that doesn’t think more cops are needed must see a doctor. Oh, and yes, I do own my house under my own name,no HUD, pay taxes……so I would be affected too.
The only thought I have(however, I may be mistaken as I don’t work in law enforcement and won’t pretend I ” know it all” as so many others do) is that maybe we can move more officers from day shift to night shift since that is when most serious crimes occur. Last I heard was that there are something like 10+- officers between the hours of 12-7 AM or something like that.
Yes we need more cops….with proper planning & budgeting by our township professionals, and eliminating wastes, eliminating other non productive township employees, we should find easily appropriate funding for more cops without increasing taxes. You guys were elected, as you ran under the umbrella of efficient budgeting clever experts. Please deliver what you claimed to do. Otherwise, perhaps we should look into this matter and advice you accordingly
There is an almost zero crime rate from the frum residents … Just saying counting residents shouldn’t count.
those that pay taxs dont want more cops. just legalize guns. go lcsw
If we’d clamp down on slumlords, we’d clamp down on crime. The cheap, substandard housing rented out by slumlords attracts undesirables. By requiring housing be up to standard and properly maintained with higher rents, criminals would look elsewhere. We should look to cutting other programs and depts before reducing police, teachers, or firemen.
Lakewood is lawless. this is the problem. people want more police, but they dont want to get tickets? stop breaking the law and you wont get tickets!
the police need free reign to arrest and ticket whomever is breaking the law. the smallest infractions are what add up to a lawless society. people dont drive in brick like they do in lakewood, because in brick you expect to get a ticket for driving crazy. double the police, pay for it with tickets and housing violation fines.
49- if you use that logic, then Brick would hardly need any cops because a large portion of their population are elderly. The elderly rarely commit crimes. However, it’s not just major crimes that the police have to deal with.
we should hire a specialized team, to bring things away from the cliff, sort of a third party to get the town and crime under control. Its a temporary expense, and will focus on the exact type of crime/problems we have, not writing tickets and other distractions.
This poll was not worded right. We need more cops without any tax hikes. We do not need to get a tax hike to hire more cops. We are paying way to much taxes as it is. What we need is less coruption in allocating our tax money.
Hire more detectivs. We don’t need more tickets.