At the Mosquito Lake School meeting to determine, if any, the degree of police service wanted by the Haines Highway community, a show of hands revealed that the majority present wanted no official police service, not because everyone are police-hating criminals but because there just isn’t a need for it. One attendee stated, “I’ve lived on this road for 42 years; we don’t need your service,” to which another gave verbal agreement, and a general affirming murmur went through the room.
The organizers ignored the response and proceeded with their presentation to show we needed more police presence. During Mr. Brad Ryan’s PowerPoint, he declared there were 340 Haines Highway calls to the troopers last year, but I corrected the context of his point by clarifying that of the 340 calls, 304 were non-emergency. Police Chief Heath Scott repeatedly cited the high number of domestic violence calls he responded to in the upper valley. The manager stated – with the Chief nodding – there were three to four calls a week out the highway. He was challenged and agreed that he meant per month rather than per week.
That the average citizen in the area has a better handle on the facts than the authorities is alarming.
At that meeting, the push was not actually asking if we wanted additional police service but how we wanted to pay for it, since it was presented as an unquestionable need.
In summary, my household votes “no” to more police presence.
Daniel Fitzpatrick