Policing the World's Oldest Profession

By Woody DuBois, Kearney Mesa

This is what the citizens wanted! And its what they're going to get thanks to Jerry Sanders and the city council.. Nevermind the POA when they announce the departure of 250+ cops in 1 year because of pay cuts. This will only continue because apparently Sanders and the city council don't believe in collecting the appropriate amount of taxes to pay for services.. Like the POA has been saying all along, when you call 911 and no one shows up right away then and only then will you feel the impacts of San Diego's policies. Same thing applies to hookers, drug dealers, pimps, etc. No cops = no enforcement. The PD is struggling to simply answer calls for service now..

Posted by SDCOP | reply to this comment
October 13, 2009 10:07 pm

Doom and Gloom. That's all you can expect from the police union. Big deal. There are hookers on El Cajon Blvd. As far back as I can remember there always have been plenty of them -- even when that area was solid middle class. We'll live through it. You cops can stop your empty threats. Nobody is listening. And how about this? Leave San Diego? OK. Just where are you planning on going? Nearly every other city is suffering from financial problems too. Nobody is going to believe that you are leaving ... and, if you do go, "don't let the door slam etc." You are dreaming if you think the citizens of San Diego are going to drop every other service just to pay police and fire services and finance outrageous pensions. It will never happen -- not unless we adopt a city dictatorship instead of strong-mayor.

Posted by Edgar | reply to this comment
October 14, 2009 11:21 am

Police Unions? Nobody is listening? We are an Association, not a Union (We can't strike). You are so wrong about nobody is listening! Everyone that has been a victim of a crime is listening and watching what our Mayor is doing. Those that really understand know the safety of the citizens have been drastically reduced over the past several years. We patrol the streets with the bare minimum and most always with less than that. Gang crime is increasing because they know there are fewer cops on the streets. Every month we are losing more cops to other agencies. We are understaffed by 260. At the end of this fiscal year it will be 280. It will reach 350 by the following year since we have no more academies. Cops will get killed because of the understaffing. Mark My Words!

Posted by Ron Weiss | reply to this comment
October 18, 2009 6:36 am

Yes, Officer Weiss, nobody is listening. You are too close to the situation and the union is only "preaching to the choir." Believe your own propaganda at your own peril. As for Officer Jordon, unlike so many others posting to this letter, I am not in favor of legalizing prostitution on El Cajon Blvd or anywhere else. Unfortunately, most of the areas along the Boulevard have gone from middle class to slums or borderline slums and that exasperates the problem. Where before there were just the girls walking the street, now the general degradation of the area has brought many more problems. That's a fight that is probably lost. The area will never return to what it was. Home turnover in better-off nearby areas such as Kensington and Talmadge supports that. Those people are moving north of 8.

Posted by Edgar | reply to this comment
October 19, 2009 9:51 am

Edgar, I agree with you that "nobody is listening" and it will never change. People listen to the likes of Jerry Sanders, Carl DeMaio and Barack Obama. The only time people care about how many cops are working or what the staffing situation is are AFTER they become a crime victim. People complain to me constantly about how long we take to get to them. They lecture me about how we're spending to much time on XXX and not enough on YYY. So on this issue, you are right, nobody cares and nobody is listening. But where you're wrong is when you constantly talk about our union and how "powerful" we are. There is NO UNION, we have NO POWER. If we had a union, cops would have the legal option to strike and would walked off the job years ago.

Posted by Crazy Talk | reply to this comment
October 24, 2009 4:36 pm

We really should make it legal, regulate and test the people for STD's, allow it to operate freely in certain controlled areas away from schools, churches, and homes. Then TAX IT. It would take less resources to keep it under control and would generate income for the city. Oh, outlaw it? Come on get real, it's about sex, you going to outlaw sex?

Posted by Street Creature | reply to this comment
October 14, 2009 6:53 am

I think we should make everything anyone wants to do legal. There's probably no reason why we ever needed laws to begin with...we should let human nature rule and everyone can do anything they want to do, include murdering other people because it is such a waste of money to incarcerate someone for just wanting to get rid of nuisance. So let's legalize it all and have no restraints. The government can make even more money off our vices than it already does and even more crooks can get elected to office. It's a good plan. And when the brothel is set up next to your children's school and your little girl decides it's a great profession to go into, then don't come complaining to anyone else about the decisions she makes based on role models of legalized prostitution, drugs and all the rest.

Posted by Leanne1 | reply to this comment
October 14, 2009 11:04 am

Street Creature is right. In a time of eroding public services, tying up court time and filling jails with needless prostitution busts makes no sense---especially if it can be turned into a profit center for SD, just like it was up until the end of WWII. Decriminalize it, zone it, regulate it, tax it and promote it to out of towners, and watch the money come in, boys and girls. It always does----and it brings culture with it, like it brought jazz in New Orleans a century ago, or the entertainment center that Las Vegas is now.

Posted by Vic | reply to this comment
October 14, 2009 12:01 pm

I bet someone at ConVis is already working on a marketing plan. Maybe they can revise their tourist slogan from - San Diego where "Happy Happens" to San Diego where "Sex Happens"! Maybe that will help their slumping numbers.

Posted by ECB | reply to this comment
October 15, 2009 7:14 am

Get real and forget about hiring more LEOs to enforce puritannical laws from antiquated times. Considering the entire State is broke, victimless crimes such as prostitution really ought to be legalized, regulated and taxed just like any other business. Stop living in the Middle Ages and fast forward to 2009. You aren't going to stop people from paying for sex just because your religion tells you to disagree with it.

Posted by Average Joe | reply to this comment
October 14, 2009 1:08 pm

Edgar, Actually, prostitution is a pretty big deal for legit business owners trying to survive on ECB, since customers don't want to shop where whores and pimps thrive. It's an even bigger deal for people who live by ECB and have to clean up dirty condoms and narcotic stuff, which is dropped on the street by "b-girls" and their clients when they finish their arrangements. However, I would have to say it's the biggest deal for teenage girls that have to walk home from school through a gauntlet of pimps, who tend to be armed gang members, trying to force them into this trade. As for cops leaving, your tax dollars in the form of cops have taken jobs with LAPD, Oxnard, Chula Vista and the federal government in recent weeks. Agenices are now recruiting them again. Lost tax dollars!

Posted by jeff jordon | reply to this comment
October 16, 2009 7:28 am

Officer Jordon: Unlike a good number of the others making comments here, I am not in favor of legalization, taxation and bashing other people's religious beliefs. I merely made the statement that this situation has existed since ... what? Cabrillo's landing? ... on El Cajon Blvd. The fact that it is there now is nothing new, changes nothing and its impact on businesses there must be likewise minimal because commerce has flourished on that street since ... forever. My solution for the officers who do leave for greener (?) pastures: immediately cut those slots as part of the SDPD contribution to paring of government employment -- a sad fact that all SD agencies must face. It's life. If you want to talk about REAL lost tax funds, then let's discuss the useless central library or new city hall. Lost crybaby officers are CHUMP CHANGE.

Posted by Edgar | reply to this comment
October 16, 2009 6:36 pm

Jeff, one reason prostitution is a public nuisance for the business community and residents is because there's no legitimate way to advertize for customers, i.e. yellow pages. This forces business transactions to take place on public streets and alleys rather than indoors in the privacy of a commercially-zoned office space as would happen with legalization and regulation.

Posted by Kathleen | reply to this comment
October 17, 2009 11:18 am

You're wasting your breath. The police aren't in favor of any common sense idea that actually reduces crime, since it would reduce the need for their services. They would much rather allow the problem to continue so that they can to justify their existence.

Posted by larry | reply to this comment
October 22, 2009 9:52 am

"Justify their existence"? Please!!! Feel free to check the stats and see how long people are waiting for a police officer to show up when they need the police. I know in the divsion I work, the average wait for a crime not "in progress" has to be over an hour. I go to calls on a daily basis that have been holding for over 4 hours. As far as legalizing prostitution as "common sense", why don't you try to run that referendum by the citizens ina vote and see how that goes. I personally don't care one way or another.

Posted by Crazy Talk | reply to this comment
October 24, 2009 4:25 pm

And wallow in self-manufactured, fictional self-pity. I have to admit, though, they are pikers in that activity in comparison to members of the SDFD.

Posted by Edgar | reply to this comment
October 24, 2009 6:49 pm

I love my life!

Posted by thom | reply to this comment
October 28, 2009 9:13 pm

You should! It's a great gig (for you, not the taxpayers).

Posted by Edgar | reply to this comment
October 29, 2009 8:11 am

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