Columbia
Police and their priorities
Whitney Wallace, posted Oct. 17, 2006
With the flip of a switch, bright red and blue lights begin
spinning and a siren blows outside the car. The sight and
sound sends drivers into a fast-paced frenzy. Each car along
the highway comes to a stop as hearts race inside. The drivers
wait patiently as a list of things they might have done wrong
rolls through their heads. The adrenaline rush dies after
the official car speeds past. However, when it comes to dealing
with law enforcement officers, the drivers’ feeling
of frustration is far from being gone. From speeding tickets
to seatbelt violations, we don’t always give our officers
the appreciation they deserve.
As a college student, I admit to being guilty of this. However,
I know I’m not the only one. I’m not sure how
our generation has learned to dislike law enforcement, but
I’m guessing it comes along with our need for convenience
and our familiarity with special treatment. Let’s face
it, as a whole our generation doesn’t have a lot of
experiences with hardships because of fast-growing technology.
However, this so-called progress might actually be harming
us rather than helping us.
For instance, my experiences with the law involve driving
violations. As a typical teenager, getting pulled-over really
upsets me. My emotions run wild as I cry in fear of getting
in trouble, but at the same time my tears are full of anger.
In these personal situations, I had broken the law. The disturbing
part, as my mother has pointed out, is that I wasn’t
upset about breaking the law. I was upset that the police
officer was there to catch me.
Since I was 16, I’ve been stereotyping these officers
as mean and out to get me. It seemed like every time I turned
around; I saw another car. Each time I spotted one I thought
to myself how much I wished they weren’t driving by.
However, less than three weeks ago, I found myself on the
other end of the spectrum. In fact, it only took one experience
to make me realize the important service I was taking for
granted.
As I sat on the side of U.S. 63 with fellow freshman and agribusiness
major, Katie Jarboe, we waited patiently for a towing service
to fix a flat tire. Because we were stranded in the middle
of the night, we also called the Columbia Police Department
to request an officer’s protection. Thirty minutes went
by and no one had arrived to our assistance. Shortly after,
a strange man stopped to ask us if we needed any help. Luckily,
Katie told him the police were on their way. At the same time
I was calling 9-1-1 again to report the strange man and ask
the officer to hurry. Eventually, the towing service showed
up to change the tire, yet it wasn’t until we were back
on campus that the police officer called my phone. According
to the dispatch records from the CPD, it was approximately
one hour between my first call and when they contacted me
to ask if everything was ok.
At first this experience made my impressions of law enforcement
even worse. Like Katie said, we were upset that an officer
never stopped by. “It was very disappointing as a young
female to know that when I [sought] out assistance from the
police force they failed to help,” she said.
However, I learned a lot about public safety issues from Captain
Zim Schwartze, east district commander for the Columbia Police
Department. Obviously Katie and I knew our call wasn’t
as high a priority as other calls dealing with assault, burglary
and other dangers, but according to Schwartze, even the calls
of high priority are at times not answered fast enough due
to the lack of officers. “The sergeants are getting
very concerned that recently we are starting to have in-progress
calls and we have no one to send,” she said.
Schwartze also said during really busy times recently the
department has been assisted by the Highway Patrol, Boone
County Sheriff Department and MUPD. It’s easy to understand
the shortage of officers when the minimum staffing for each
of the department’s shifts is sometimes as low as eight
officers for the entire city of Columbia. “On the weekend
nights, you can have anywhere from around eight to 14 officers,”
she said. On the Thursday night Katie and I needed protection,
there were 42 calls from midnight to 2 a.m. According to the
written records, 14 Columbia Police officers were on duty
to answer these calls.
While our situation wasn’t as critical as other calls
for service, the department has experienced emergencies that
have taken officers away from protecting the city. Schwartze
said at the beginning of the semester there were several parties
with 200-300 students attending. She said these huge parties
caused a major problem. “Every officer was down there
trying to deal with these students and the rest of the city
was unattended. To me, that’s scary,” she said.
Schwartze explained that according to FBI studies regarding
demographics and population, Columbia has the right amount
of officers. However, she also explained there are other variables
that determine the need of more officers. “We’re
barely keeping our heads above water because we have a large
number of calls for service,” she said. In 2005, the
department had 63,248 calls of service. That averages out
to approximately 173 calls each day.
“The calls for service are increasing,” she said.
“The violence out there is increasing. I think all law
enforcement agencies will tell you they’d always like
to have a few more officers. Unfortunately, a lot of the money
is dwindling for public safety across the country.”
Because of funding issues, it is hard to determine how this
need of officers can be met.
While my experiences haven’t taught me how to increase
numbers within the police force, I have gained an appreciation
for the men and women working to protect us. My general attitude
toward law enforcement once reflected that of an ignorant
and spoiled teenager from my generation. In my frustration
of dealing with the police, I paid little attention to the
important services they provided me. Now that I realize the
significant amount of calls they are taking and people they
are saving, it seems selfish of me to be angry about the time
they spent protecting me by keeping the roads safe to drive
on.
I’m not proud of my previous stereotypes, but I’m
glad I’ve learned to appreciate these men and women
who make sacrifices to protect our lives. Will I be the only
one in our generation to realize and admit I was wrong? Next
time you’re angry about a situation with any authority
figure, ask yourself the same question my mother asked me.
Are you upset with yourself for breaking the law, or are you
angry someone caught you?
