Entire police force laid off in small Texas town

Raw Story

Crime is on the rise in one small Texas city because the police department has been padlocked and the officers sent home.

The city of Alto laid off its entire police force about two weeks ago because the city council completely cut the department's budget.

"They put a bulls-eye target on law enforcement -- police department -- and police department only," police chief Charles Barron told CBS News.

"We had to do something drastic," Councilman Jerry Flowers explained to Forbes. "The police department being a non-money-making entity, was the easiest to get rid of while we catch our breath and build up some cash."

The city is facing a $185,000 budget deficit due to declining property and sale tax revenues. To make matters worse, the town hasn't saved up to make the necessary repairs to a natural gas distribution plant.

"There have been accusations that the police department is not generating enough revenue," Barron said. "Well, police departments are not revenue generators."

The 1,300 residents will now have to wait up to 15 minutes for county sheriff deputies to respond to 911 calls. The five police officers dedicated to Alto had been able to respond in less than three minutes on average...[Full Article]

Camden City Council Approves Massive Police And Fire Layoffs

CAMDEN, NJ (CBS) – Camden City Council, as expected, voted Thursday to lay off almost 400 workers, half of them police officers and firefighters, to bridge a $26.5 million deficit.

That’s about a quarter of the city’s entire work force...

[Full Article]

Suffer These Crimes in Oakland? Don't Call the Cops

Dozens of layoffs effective at midnight, barring last minute deal

Oakland's police chief is making some dire claims about what his force will and will not respond to if layoffs go as planned.

Chief Anthony Batts listed exactly 44 situations that his officers will no longer respond to and they include grand theft, burglary, car wrecks, identity theft and vandalism. He says if you live and Oakland and one of the above happens to you, you need to let police know on-line.

Some 80 officers were to be let go at midnight last night if a last-minute deal was not reached. That's about ten percent of the work force.

"I came her e to build an organization, not downsize one," said Batts, who was given the top job in October.

That deadline has been extended to 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Here's a partial list:

• burglary
• theft
• embezzlement
• grand theft
• grand theft:dog
• identity theft
• false information to peace officer
• required to register as sex or arson offender
• dump waste or offensive matter
• discard appliance with lock
• loud music
• possess forged notes
• pass fictitious check
• obtain money by false voucher
• fraudulent use of access cards
• stolen license plate
• embezzlement by an employee (over $ 400)
• extortion
• attempted extortion
• false personification of other
• injure telephone/ power line
• interfere with power line
• unauthorized cable tv connection
• vandalism
• administer/expose poison to another's...

[Full Article]