Letter to the editor

The next chief Dear editor:

The Sentinel-Record headline of April 21 read, “FOP takes ‘no confidence’ vote on chief, assistant.” As noted, there were multiple reasons for the “unanimous vote” by the police officers and the truth is, HSPD is not an efficient operation. The department obviously has leadership and morale problems, poor communications, and various other problems. The city and HSPD leadership continue to ignore these problems at the public’s peril.

Our citizens have been poorly served by our police for many years. Hot Springs has ranked in the top 10 most crime-ridden cities for many years both in terms of larcenies (including murders) and property crimes (FBI statistics). Unfortunately, this fact reflects directly on the leadership (or lack thereof) of our police department. Worse, it directly impacts our safety and property values. Why does HSPD continue to promote from within or hire former officers whose only policing skills were learned in a department that ranks amongst the worst in the entire country?

Our next leader must be a chief who actually has a plan and proven experience in reducing crime. Our city deserves no less. How long must it take to realize this simple fact?

When our current police chief was hired, Hot Springs’ new city manager put together a hiring review committee of professional law enforcement officials from around the country. This group recommended either a chief from Tyler, Texas, or a DEA executive, both with experience and plans for reducing crime. It appears that city leaders were not happy with hiring a chief based on qualifications and proven experience, so they put together their own “VIP” committee and a “Blue Ribbon” committee consisting of city board members and city employees. You guessed it, this group of city insiders recommended promotion from within the ranks and the chief who was just given a unanimous vote of “no confidence” was hired.

Yes, the law enforcement professionals were overruled by the “good ol’ boy” committees which continue to appear to be looking out for each other instead of fulfilling their responsibility to the safety of our citizens. Unfortunately, many officers and citizens believe that the next chief has already been contacted and hired by the city manager. Not many would be surprised to learn that he is a former officer with HSPD who mostly just wants to come back home.

Google the words “Hot Springs” and “crime” and read some of the dozens of reports on how dangerous our city really is. The first to come up on my PC reads, “With a crime rate of 75 per 1,000 residents, Hot Springs has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes — from the smallest towns to the very largest cities.”

Now ask yourself, Is it not high time for our citizens to speak up and insist on hiring an “outside” chief who has proven they know how to reduce crime? Can we expect any progress without doing this?

Don Morphew Hot Springs