Interesting pre-election story in this morning's Standard-Examiner, referring to at least one day in Emerald City when Boss Godfrey allowed Ogden's Finest to actively bring down the heat on the criminal element in Ogden's sometime crummy central city (soon to renamed "The Trolley District"):
OGDEN -- Like enforcer bees crawling over a hive of crime, the Ogden Police Department recently swarmed an area that attracts criminal activity at a much higher rate than the rest of the city."We shook up a lot of stuff for a few hours, " says OPD Sargent Cottrell.
Approximately 20 officers from the department patrolled the targeted crime reduction area Wednesday night, an area bounded by 20th and 30th streets and Washington and Harrison boulevards, searching for known criminals and illegal activity.
Officers served 11 warrants, found stolen property, picked up a parole violator, made a drug arrest and issued six citations.
The drug arrest took an "8-ball" of methamphetamine off the streets -- an eighth of an ounce.
"It was definitely worthwhile, that amount of arrests and contacts for six hours worth of work," Police Sgt. Kevin Cottrell said.
We couldn't be more in agreement with this latest police tactic. In fact, we wonder why the OPD isn't allowed to at least do something like this on a daily basis. Time to restore law and order to Central City Ogden , we think. If we want to see a "renaissance in our central city," this is obviously the FIRST place to start. Time for Boss Godfrey to also fatten up the numbers on the police force, we believe. Thanks to a highly-reliable OPD insider we spoke with today, by the way, its revealed to us that the council-authorized number of OPD officers falls 17 short. Naturally, we ask why Boss Godfrey hasn't filled these vacant positions already...
Time for Godfrey to grow up and abandon his Gondola/Icicle dreams, we think, and join the world of grownups.
Query: When will Boss Godfrey grow up, reach a reasonable level of adult maturity and realise that his first obligation to Ogden City residents is to provide the fundamentals, like Public Safety Protection and Working Infrastrucure?
We'll not hold our collective breath.
And what say our gentle readers about all this?
26 comments:
Here's my comment on Godfrey's one-day central city crime "crackdown."
Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn... now and then.
While I do not argue with your premise that mayor Godfrey suffers from moral, ethical and competency challenges, I don't quite see how this police action proves the point, especially if he authorized it.
The police action in central Ogden put me in the mind of Willy Sutton the famous bandit who when asked why he robbed banks said "cause that's where the money is". (WmIII - it was Willy that said that wasn't it?) Well, central Ogden is where most of the crime is, so hopefully the OPD will make this a common action.
Speaking of the OPD, I think they are great even tho they operate on reduced manpower and with highly questionable leadership. All the Ogden cops I have met are the best. Course now they weren't writing me tickets or smacking me upside the head when I met them!
What ever happened to "Tip a Cop", that Godfrey started just before he ran for Mayor last time? I wonder if this latest attempt to paint himself (and his hand-picked candidates) in a good light has anything to do with the upcoming election?
ticket quota and putting robbers in a head lock is all Godfrey knows how to do. I wonder if griner the whiner was with his men or if he was out playing golf with the lobbyist who wine and dine him with money. Who said you can't bribe a police chief?
Just as Greiner.
From what the SE reported, the focus on crime hot spots seems to have had a good effect. Presuming that to be so, I don't see any reason not to give Chief Greiner and the administration credit for it. Opposing the excesses, the bad business judgment and ethically challenged-nature of Mayor Godfrey's administration does not require ignoring or criticizing what the administration does right simply because it's the Godfrey administration that does it.
Same standard should apply to all elected and appointed officials. And that includes giving both pats on the back for jobs nicely done and thumping criticisms for screwing up. Can't fairly do one without doing the other, seems to me.
Thank you fine police officers for doing a very dangerous job in central Ogden.
Even on a sleepy afternoon, that area has thousands of brown-skinned fugitives from the INS, all of them wild-eyed desperate when cornered and often armed and drunk to the gills.
Having to go in there and separate the illegal-alien criminal lowlifes who are just waiting to go to their shift at Lifetime Metals, and the illegal-alien lowlife criminals who are on the police radar for committing violent felonies, is a tough job, one you all should be paid 75,000 a year for doing.
It sickens me to know that there are managers who work for the city who make more than a rookie cop working the late night in Ogden.
Note, but not a criticism per sea: an eight ball as a haul is pathetic. This town uses a few pounds every day.
'Thank you fine police officers for doing a very dangerous job in central Ogden.'
Exactly right, RJ. I completely concur.
"Note, but not a criticism per sea: an eight ball as a haul is pathetic. This town uses a few pounds every day."
Your also right in this comment. There's indeed much more law enforcement work to be done.
Will Boss Godfrey EVER devote enough money to OPD resources to ensure the job will ever be properly done?
Frankly... I doubt it.
Now, now Rudi. Surely you're not suggesting that Hizzonah, in a year when Ogden police jobs went unfilled for lack of funds, should not have asked the Council for $200K for the downtown outdoor year round ice climbing popsicle, are you?
You are so judgmental.
Rudi
I don't know how you could expect mayor godfrey to devote more money to the OPD when there are cronies to take care of, Geigers to pay for featherbedding and wild eyed HiAdventure fantasies to pursue.
Common man, be reasonable, this is after all the land of Oz.
That's seventeen authorized and budgeted police jobs wich remain unfilled, Curm.
Yes. What I'm saying is that this major mayororal screwup (Godfrey) is not properly doing his job.
What comes first?
Jeff Lowe Icicles or police jobs?
Rudi, Rudi, Rudi... you have to think outside the box. Or inside the popsicle. Or something....
A visionary Mayor who did not squander his time and good will on Petersons Folly would easily have the spare change and political clout to make Jeff Lowe's ice climbing tower a reality.
But, after all of the other failures, he does not even have enough to hire our law enforcement.
A little Irish Cream in the coffee to stave off the cold today, Curm? hmmm ...
just sayin
BB
This chronic problem of lying little matty's regarding unfilled officer slots causes one to wonder how much excess cash greiner is sitting on over the last 4 years.
In 2006 they were only short 15, now 17, that's a tidy little sum of budgeted revenues.
One shouldn't forget that these numbers are presented to the Council every year by the lying little guy and I can't recall the Council ever reducing the police portion of the budget.
Where does the money go?
More phone polling going on. Just got one asking if I thought the City Council should agree with Mayor Godfrey's proposals
1. More often than it has in the past couple of years
2. Less often
3. About the same.
First question was, would I favor more tax money being used to complete or further develop the Junction. Yes, no, undecided.
Also asked do I favor reintroducing the idea of a tram or gondola to Mt. Ogden. Yes, no, undecided.
Asked if I favored selling the Marshall White center to a private operator. Agree/disagree/undecided.
Asked if I favored the city contracting with a private consultant to redesign MOGC. Yes, no, undecided.
Asked also which council candidate I was likely to vote for in each of the two at-large races.
It did not seem to be a push poll.
Wonder who commissioned it?
The city's fire and police departments are the training grounds for the rest of northern Utah. The wages in the city have been frozen for the last 6 years so everyone fell behind when times were good. Why stay here and work hard when you don't get a raise, COLA's are a thing of the past, equipment is lousy? The fire department must maintain it's current staffing level or it will lose federal funding, OPD always has open slots, it can't get people as fast as it loses them.
Godfrey commission it who else. Why would those question be asked if he didn't.
Did you say the city could lose it federal funding. is this the same funding that greiner the whiner said that he does not administer because of the hatch act.
Truth-sorry, different department, different finds. Godfrey cut the staffing level of the fire department by 3 positions, a federal grant is paying for a portion of those 3 positions to be hired back for 5 years. If the city drops below the current staffing level it has to fully fund those positions.
Could, Could, Could:
The information that particular poll develops could be very useful to members of the Godfrey ticket in the At Large races, but it could also be very useful for any of the independent candidates as well.
Curm:
COULD be useful - if made available in its entirety, with all questions and full data set with analysis - to all candidates who have the wherewithall to comprehend its worth
just sayin
BB
If it was not a "push poll" as Mr. Curmudgeon suspects, then it most likely did not come from mayor Godfrey. He don't do nuttin that ain't at lease a little slimy around the edges. Honest research and data have no place in his scheme of things.
My guess is it might come from Phipps and his out of state real estate hustler money. Phone polls ain't cheap - are they?
BB:
Of course. But whoever paid for it, I presume, is not going to make the script, or the breakdown of the results, available to those not sharing his goals. But no matter whether I was on the Godfrey ticket or one of the independent council candidates, I'd want to see the results if I could. Either way, they'd provide me with useful information for the closing days of the campaign.
The Boss Godfrey Ticket v. Independent Council Candidates
Heh.
South B:
I just calls 'em like I sees 'em. [grin]
I also took the same poll. My impression was that this poll must be coming from someone opposed to Godfrey. All of the questions hit on the points raised by the opposition. And the questions were phrased in such a way that they did not imply a pro-Godfrey response. The one problem I had with the poll, other than the person misprouncing words and names, was that I was asked who I would vote for between Stephens and Dean, even though I don't live in Ward 3. When I said that I won't say who I would vote for because I don't live in Ward 3 the person responded: so you are undecided.
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