I read an interesting article this morning. You can find it HERE. It talked about the annual DUI round-up that happens every year around Labor Day. Personally, I am neither for it or against it since I do no drink. Some would say that it makes the streets safer, others protest that it interferes with their 4th Amendment right. Whatever side you choose has nothing to do with why I'm writing about it today.
I found it interesting as the the media lauded the efforts of law enforcement for saving humanity for the deadly attacks of drunken drivers that they completely ignore the actual facts as they used them. I'll cite a few:
Law-enforcement officers across the state arrested 1,554 drivers for misdemeanor drunken driving in the 18-day campaign that began Aug. 20 and ran through Monday, compared with 1,154 drunken-driving arrests over the same period in 2009.
This year, nearly 6,400 officers took part in the statewide task force, compared with about 1,300 in 2009. Officers approached more than 36,000 drivers this year, up from 13,697 the year before.
Sounds simple enough, but are you seeing the problem yet? Let me tell you. We increased your law enforcement by almost 500 percent. Next, with that 500 percent increase, only gained a 35 percent increase in arrests. Fundamentally, that is not good. Economically, it is devastating. The hidden math paints a far better picture. Here we have 6,400 officers on duty. Now lets add their salaries, which I based have on the City of Phoenix. That would be a starting pay of $21.68 per hour. Overtime would be $32.52 per hour. So realistically, our annual DUI expenses went from $28,184 in 2009 for 1,300 officers to $138,752 in 2010 for 6,400 officers. Mind you, this is the base starting pay for Phoenix. You can bet that number is very much higher since many officers have higher pay rates, time in service, and who knows what. Here is a link to the City of Phoenix Police Officer Salary and Benefits page: HERE
So in these trying times, how can we afford so much and reap so little? Well, the article tried to explain that "The annual task force is funded through federal grants...". Still, don't WE fund the federal government? Isn't that OUR money they are spending so frivolously? C'mon people, when do we stop funding stupid and become fiscally responsible for ourselves and our families?
