If you are concerned about law
enforcement and the role it plays in controlling crime and in
administering justice in Scioto County, you have a very important
decision to make on election day. Three candidates are running for
Sheriff of Scioto County. Each man will bring his own ideas and
strategies into office if elected. The candidates are
Sheriff Marty Donini – Republican
incumbent
Steve Goins – Democrat challenger
Charles Horner – Independent
challenger
Considering the state of the county, the sheriff, the
number one enforcement officer, has a huge job of
leadership on his hands. The drug abuse that has devastated the area
has been a major cause of escalating criminal activity. As we all
know, people are tired of high rates of property crime, public order
crime, and violent crime. Now, citizens are speaking out and calling
for stricter and more effective measures to combat the actions of
criminals who pose a very real threat to their homes and to their
families.
The long-practiced status quo methods
of law enforcement are not effective in promoting positive change.
Whoever becomes sheriff must instill new proactive measures and make better use
of his present resources in order to serve the public. A populace
that is content with enforcement's application of “business as
usual” helps propagate a department that too often shows little
concern about the victims of crime.
For far too long in Scioto County,
people have heard excuses from the Sheriff's office. The department
spreads excuses throughout the county about lack of funds, lack of
manpower, lack of cooperation, and lack of tools that would allow
them to be more effective. It is time for the public to see these
grounds for inadequate performance for what they really are –
makeshift subterfuge.
A sheriff's department that is not
cooperative and communicative with its electorate performs its duties
without the key component to stopping crime. That key component is
the trust of the public. Without public trust, the agency stagnates
in their ineffectiveness while using excuses for their lack of
action. They become lazy, content with existing conditions, and more
concerned with politics than with providing order and justice.
If the county, in their experience,
finds the sheriff's department has a lack of concern through
inadequate cooperation with the public and through a lack of thorough
criminal investigation, the people soon lose trust. When they lose trust
in enforcement, they realize their true plight in the face of crime.
What is their plight? They have become victims of their own
ineffective, inattentive public servants and taxpayers that unwilling
bolster private, political concerns.
No one is more aware of victimization
by the department than the underprivileged. They often lack the means
to adequately protect themselves, and once victimized, they believe
their pleas for justice will be judged as unimportant "squawk" from
those with little or no influence and little or no power to complain.
Is it any wonder many have learned to shun officers and act in their
own behalf?
Indifference supported by excuses
becomes commonplace in daily practice. Officers led by misguided,
inept, political leaders lack the essential spirit and integrity to
fight the system and do their jobs well. Instead, the officers,
willingly or unwillingly, “go along with the program.”
At best,
equality and justice become “hit and miss” depending upon the
attainment of certain assets to the regime. After all, money and
power lay in the balance to tip the scales of justice despite the
truth. The leadership can simply manipulate any “truth” judged
harmful to the regime. This has been a major problem in Scioto County for decades.
So, I ask you to vote for the man you
judge can win your trust. That requires a thorough investigation of
each candidate's platform, history, and purpose. If none can
articulate the change he will attempt to make while in office, then,
at best, Scioto County will stay the same. Don't be fooled by
excuses. But, at the same time, don't be bedazzled by false promises.
Please, vote wisely.
In my mind, whoever wins the vote for
Scioto County Sheriff must
- Change the operations of the present ineffective office,
- Articulate a definite plan for achieving better enforcement,
- Pledge to become an officer who enforces the law with equality,
- Pledge to uphold justice, not influenced by a political party or by favored social groups, and
- WIN THE TRUST OF THE PUBLIC WITH INTEGRITY AND TRANSPARENCY, NOT WITH POSITION.
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