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  • Writer's picturePhilippe Henold Buteau

Security will come from the actual public servants

Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis received the endorsement of Florida’s police benevolent association in early October. But based on that party’s dismissal of public servants throughout the years, I'm left wondering why.


Why does a side get criticized for being soft on crime when its goal is to reward good police work?


Only one party has promised to fund our public services to where they deserve, but the constant back and forth of giving the other side a chance has kept that from happening.


The legalization of recreational marijuana, its taxation and the changing of the laws that incarcerates non-violent drug offenders puts a strain on our public servants. And it’s a misuse of public funds.


If voters pick and continue picking the only side that wants to fund all forms of education and prioritize incarcerating violent and financial offenders, it will help create a future we can all believe in.


When the prison population is reduced because there will no longer be non-violent drug offenders, the remaining people will be grouped together according to their offense. That will lead to fewer prisons being necessary. The state prison staff could be either assigned to a local police substation or the state troopers. The now empty prisons are essentially dollars that need somewhere to go, figuratively speaking. Where those dollars should go are to our police officers in the form of state appropriations. The empty prisons and the land they sit on can be leased to more productive businesses, like farmers or recycling facilities.


The above will take assistance from lawmakers who actually want to serve the public.

Photo by Philippe H. Buteau
Delma K. Noel-Pratt, chief of the Miami Gardens Police Department, speaking to officers at a swearing-in ceremony in June 2018.

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