Q. I realize the necessity for uniform police at today’s junior and senior high schools but please explain to me and my fellow citizens club the reason for full time patrol cars at these locations. With the need for additional cars to fight crime, why do these cars sit there all day long except when the officer goes to lunch?
The Dallas Police Department provides officers to the schools on a contractual basis. The school districts pay for the officer and his car. The officer needs a car for several reasons. In addition to the high schools, they are responsible for the feeder schools as well. If there is an incident at the lower grade schools they must respond to handle the problem. They also have to transport any students they arrest to the juvenile detention facility. If they did not have a car, an officer would have to leave the field to transport the prisoner. So you see, we actually benefit from the officers having a car assigned to them. There is also a deterrent effect realized when you have the marked squad car parked outside the school. If you have information about a specific instance where you believe a car is not being used properly, I would recommend you contact Lt. Charles Cato in the Youth Programs Unit at 214-671-4237.
Q. What continues to surprise you in your job?
The thing that continues to surprise me in my job is the number of people that violate our traffic laws. Every day as I drive the streets of Dallas I am amazed at how many people are speeding, running red lights and stop signs, and moving from lane to lane to avoid slower traffic. It’s almost like they are in competition with everyone else sharing the road. The aggressive driving often results in major accidents involving serious injury or death, substantial property damage and serious delays for others waiting for the accident scenes to be cleared. In some instances, aggressive driving results in “road rage,” incidents where motorists are shot at or otherwise assaulted. Our officers take enforcement action when they observe violations, but we do not have enough police officers to monitor all the major thoroughfares. We must depend on voluntary compliance by the motoring public.
The best practice is to leave in plenty of time to get to your destination and pay attention to your driving. Drive courteously and you will greatly improve your chances of arriving safely at your destination.
