Could councils consider combining cops

I like the police officers in this town. It ain’t always Mayberry north of C.B. South but the cops here are pretty good. I have admittedly dealt with them over the decades on both sides of the stick. They have always been professional even in the most trying of times. They are good members of the community and I am glad they are here. Some are friends. I am talking about both the Crested Butte marshals and the Mt. Crested Butte police officers. I don’t know much about the State Patrol but I’ve seen one of those guys be a pretty mean scorer in the hockey rink, but I believe that there are six Staties that patrol the highways in the county essentially between Monarch Pass and Cerro Summit and up to the ski area.

The town of Crested Butte is currently advertising to hire another police officer. One officer is leaving soon and the community service officer has recently left. That still will leave six officers and an administrative assistant for the town.
In Mt. Crested Butte the recent resignation of an officer left six officers in that department and an administrative assistant. Mt. C.B. chose to save money and not replace the officer position. Mt. Crested Butte has the county sheriff’s contract to cover the north end of the valley along with the town of Mt. Crested Butte.
Things are different than they were just a few years ago. Given the tough, financial situations in both Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte, general economic shakiness and even uncertain tourist number realities of this valley…might it be time to seriously consider the idea of combining the Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte law enforcement agencies? That move could eventually, through attrition, bring down the number of police at this end of the valley (not including the State Patrol) to maybe ten instead of the 14 or 15 we had just a couple of months ago. That sure seems like plenty for a community of our size.
Searching over the Internet, there is no standard for how many police officers a population base should have. And it is more difficult to calculate with the fluctuating population base of a resort community. UCLA Professor of Public Policy Mark Kleiman, says there’s no generally accepted benchmark for appropriate police staffing levels. A decent police to population ratio is one-and-a-half to two officers per 1,000 residents, he adds. The geographic size of our community, especially in the summer when the valleys open up, is a factor but doesn’t seem like it should trump population.

Look, I know the cops really do deal with more than errant dogs and drunks in snowbanks. We all realize there is genuine danger in their job. And Lord knows, I’d want them to get to me as fast as possible in an emergency. But it just seems that a leaner force could work just fine.
Combining these two departments might be a smart road to begin heading down. It could bring in a number of real efficiencies, bring the two towns a step closer together and save money for everyone in the long run without hurting emergency response times or overall community safety.
I admit as I sit here in this warm office, safe and sound, that I don’t know all the intricate stuff a cop in this community deals with and I am sure it is tougher than my normal day. The local law enforcement in the valley is really good and pretty mellow for the most part. But the time might be right to start figuring a way to make the law enforcement in the valley more efficient without dinging the quality of protection and service we expect. Instead of hiring another officer, it could be time to begin looking for a way to merge the two forces.

Such a move can’t and won’t happen tomorrow. The differing philosophy of the two towns and even the two forces could be a stumbling block and I doubt either long serving chief would happily fade into the background tomorrow.
But the members of the Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte town councils along with the town managers should take some time and really consider the idea. Think about it. See if it could work and if there could be real benefit. Maybe the two towns have no interest in that type of melding. But now seems like an appropriate time to at least open the discussion. Now, remind me to not go over the speed limit any time soon.