OPINION: How to proceed without 1A tax
The requested 1-cent countywide sales tax hike lost big, and to no one's surprise. That means citizens are faced with a "what if they were right?" dilemma. After all, supporters of the tax said terrible things might happen if the tax were to fail. We heard crime would increase, diseases could flourish, swimming pool water and restaurant food might go bad and the jail might overflow.
Mike Kazmierski, CEO of the Greater Colorado Springs Economic Development Corp., told The Gazette that companies considering Colorado Springs as a place to relocate want assurances the crime rate is low. Companies can't attract prime professionals, after all, to work and live in a city known for crime.
Traditionally, Colorado Springs has enjoyed an enviably low crime rate for a city its size. But city officials worry that crime has been rising of late, and that it may get out of control without new funding to pay for more city and county law enforcement personnel and equipment.
It's a legitimate concern, and with the defeat of the sales tax proposal local officials have nowhere to turn for more funding in the immediate future. But that doesn't mean, by any stretch, that Colorado Springs and El Paso County have no choice but to tolerate additional crime. Citizens aren't rendered automatic victims, simply because they aren't surrounded by a growing presence of police.
The defeat of the public safety tax means that law enforcement leaders need to spend more time and effort teaching and encouraging citizens to deter and fight crime themselves. Sir Robert Peel, the conservative prime minister of the United Kingdom in the 1830s, is considered the father and founder of modern policing. His foundational principle, in establishing the Metropolitan Police Force for London, was "the police are the public, and the public are the police."
Think of it this way. A police officer has no monopoly on the right or responsibility to uphold the law. Citizens can and should be prepared to discourage crime, intervene in crime and defend others against crime. This can be as simple as taking down a license plate number when someone steals gas, or as dramatic as shooting the lethal predator at New Life Church. If a citizen is a cop, then a professional police officer is merely a full-time super cop who makes his living doing what others should do in the course of their daily lives. This isn't to advocate vigilante attempts to administer punishment and death; it's to advocate common-sense preparation by citizens to intervene in crimes and deter them.
Comparing a citizen crime fighter to a cop is like comparing a home-schooling mother to a public school teacher. One's an amateur volunteer; the other works professionally, for pay. Both teach. Or compare a man who fiddles part time on Tejon Street with the lead violinist of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic. Each is a musician; one is more accomplished and better paid. Both are valid.
With that paradigm in mind, city and county officials should consider each citizen of sound mind and body a potential part-time cop, of sorts, just as Peel viewed the citizens of London. It's a perspective that gives the community thousands of potential crime fighters.
The biggest crime problem facing modern society is the collective mindset that says only professional, full-time police can and should provide protection from crime. Got a problem? Call 911 and wait for a cop. If police don't show in eight minutes or less, we need more money for more police. It makes little sense. Police should be a secondary line of defense against crime, not our sole line of defense.
We couldn't hire enough police to make people absolutely safe if we doubled the $75 million local officials were told they could not have. No matter how big the police force, savvy criminals will have their way with a citizenry that's unprepared for crime. Most public officials in Colorado know this. That's why we have a "shall issue" law that requires sheriffs to issue concealed carry permits to citizens who are trained and certified to carry handguns as cops do. That's why El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa has encouraged citizens to consider obtaining concealment permits.
Because the tax didn't pass, citizens and public officials concerned about crime need a new paradigm. Plan B should involve an intense new focus on educating and inspiring residents to own their community's safety. Law enforcement officials should employ a "we want your help" crime-fighting message. They should hold sessions that inform citizens about the benefits of barking dogs, surveillance cameras, deadbolts, alarms and neighborhood readiness. City and county officials should team with local businesses that teach various forms of self defense. And leading law enforcement officials should enhance their efforts to encourage responsible citizens to exercise their Second Amendment and concealed carry rights. People who haven't properly prepared should consider doing so before exercising their Second Amendment rights.
Throwing money at "public safety" is one way to reduce crime, an important goal for the city's collective welfare. Besides taking action to prevent crimes in the first place, the best approach, however, is to address the fact victims and witnesses stand the best chance of solving crimes. Preparing potential victims is something city and county officials can afford, and it's the best way to make our community safe - with or without the tax.
