Brownsville Needs More Police Officers
By Diego Garcia III | Editor of The Brownsville Beacon
Brownsville is not a small city by any stretch of the imagination. Official statistics list Brownsville's population numbers at around 185,000 people, but given the number of people who are probably not counted in any official census, the city probably comes in at over 200,000 people.
The city also stretches some 85 square miles. For comparison, McAllen comes in at a shade under 49 square miles and Harlingen comes in at 40 square miles.
According to a source from the Brownsville Police Department, there was a day during the Christmas holiday where there were only four police officers on patrol during the overnight/graveyard shift. Apparently several officers called in sick and no other officers went in to cover the ones who called in.
We are very fortunate there were no major issues in Brownsville that evening. Brownsville Police do not ride with partners; they ride solo. That means there were only four police officers patrolling the 85 square miles of our fair city.
I am not criticizing the Brownsville Police Department, and if I were, I certainly wouldn't be doing it on National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. Chief Felix Sauceda and his police officers have done wonderful things this past holiday season for the community. They also risk their lives everyday protecting the property and the citizenry.
I am not a cop-hater in the least — as a matter of fact, I collect law enforcement insignia and patches. The other day, I noticed a Brownsville Police Ford Interceptor behind me in the drive thru at McDonald's. I paid for the officer's meal; I figured it was the least I could do for someone who puts his life on the line to protect me. I am an ardent supporter of law enforcement and believe theirs is a thankless job. I can't possibly imagine being in a profession where so many people have such an unhealthy disdain for what I do.
That doesn't change the fact that Brownsville needs more police officers. Response time is not what it should be. Traffic conditions are terrible and people drive like maniacs because there aren't nearly enough police officers on patrol during any given shift.
I've said Brownsville actually needs to grow the size of the police force and segment it into different departments. Brownsville should have a dedicated traffic division with a deputy, or assistant, chief reporting directly to the chief of police. His division would be responsible for traffic enforcement on the city streets. The traffic division should also have a larger fleet of motorcycle police officers and a dedicated highway patrol division dedicated to going up and down the sections of US Highway 77, State Highway 48, and State Highway 4 that are in our jurisdiction. If there is more of a police presence around the city, and their responsibility would be primarily traffic enforcement, we wouldn't have such terrible drivers within the city limits.
City leaders should also think about applying for grants to grow our SWAT team and have a dedicated emergency services unit that could deal with things like ordinance disposal and hostage negotiation.
Park safety should also be a priority, and the city should consider creating a Brownsville Park Police. Brownsville has approximately 40 public parks and over 30 miles of bike trails. It would be in the city's interest to ensure these areas are safe during all hours of operation. I'm not a big fan of bike lanes, but if we had police officers dedicated to riding on the bike lanes, maybe cyclists would be more inclined to follow the rules of the road.
Brownsville's Finest need more brave men and women to join their ranks. Our city is much too big for the officers we currently have — they're spread way too thin covering a city that borders Mexico. We need more law enforcement officers, not less.
Brownsville is not a small city by any stretch of the imagination. Official statistics list Brownsville's population numbers at around 185,000 people, but given the number of people who are probably not counted in any official census, the city probably comes in at over 200,000 people.
The city also stretches some 85 square miles. For comparison, McAllen comes in at a shade under 49 square miles and Harlingen comes in at 40 square miles.
According to a source from the Brownsville Police Department, there was a day during the Christmas holiday where there were only four police officers on patrol during the overnight/graveyard shift. Apparently several officers called in sick and no other officers went in to cover the ones who called in.
We are very fortunate there were no major issues in Brownsville that evening. Brownsville Police do not ride with partners; they ride solo. That means there were only four police officers patrolling the 85 square miles of our fair city.
I am not criticizing the Brownsville Police Department, and if I were, I certainly wouldn't be doing it on National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. Chief Felix Sauceda and his police officers have done wonderful things this past holiday season for the community. They also risk their lives everyday protecting the property and the citizenry.
I am not a cop-hater in the least — as a matter of fact, I collect law enforcement insignia and patches. The other day, I noticed a Brownsville Police Ford Interceptor behind me in the drive thru at McDonald's. I paid for the officer's meal; I figured it was the least I could do for someone who puts his life on the line to protect me. I am an ardent supporter of law enforcement and believe theirs is a thankless job. I can't possibly imagine being in a profession where so many people have such an unhealthy disdain for what I do.
That doesn't change the fact that Brownsville needs more police officers. Response time is not what it should be. Traffic conditions are terrible and people drive like maniacs because there aren't nearly enough police officers on patrol during any given shift.
I've said Brownsville actually needs to grow the size of the police force and segment it into different departments. Brownsville should have a dedicated traffic division with a deputy, or assistant, chief reporting directly to the chief of police. His division would be responsible for traffic enforcement on the city streets. The traffic division should also have a larger fleet of motorcycle police officers and a dedicated highway patrol division dedicated to going up and down the sections of US Highway 77, State Highway 48, and State Highway 4 that are in our jurisdiction. If there is more of a police presence around the city, and their responsibility would be primarily traffic enforcement, we wouldn't have such terrible drivers within the city limits.
City leaders should also think about applying for grants to grow our SWAT team and have a dedicated emergency services unit that could deal with things like ordinance disposal and hostage negotiation.
Park safety should also be a priority, and the city should consider creating a Brownsville Park Police. Brownsville has approximately 40 public parks and over 30 miles of bike trails. It would be in the city's interest to ensure these areas are safe during all hours of operation. I'm not a big fan of bike lanes, but if we had police officers dedicated to riding on the bike lanes, maybe cyclists would be more inclined to follow the rules of the road.
Brownsville's Finest need more brave men and women to join their ranks. Our city is much too big for the officers we currently have — they're spread way too thin covering a city that borders Mexico. We need more law enforcement officers, not less.
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