| Q: |
What are the demands on Selma’s police
force? |
| A: |
Meth labs, drug trafficking and gangs are serious
problems in Selma. Selma police say there are as
many as 350 gang members and associates in the City, and the
number of drug arrests has increased by nearly 115% in the
past four years. We can fight these problems by putting more
police on the streets and maintaining funds for gang and
drug prevention programs.
|
| Q: |
How can we address gang and drug violence
specifically? |
| A: |
We must increase police presence in our
neighborhoods and parks, as well as expand community
policing. Increasing the number of anti-drug and anti-gang
police officers will keep kids off the streets and out of
trouble.
|
| Q: |
Are there 9-1-1/fire needs in our
community? |
| A: |
There currently aren’t enough firefighters
or police officers to respond to multiple emergencies. We
need to hire enough firefighters and police officers to do
so. Additionally, our safety personnel need modern
equipment, new police cars and fire engines.
|
| Q: |
How does the Public Safety
Measure impact safety in Selma? |
| A: |
The measure was
designed to:
- Expand anti-gang, anti-drug and youth programs
- Hire more anti-gang and anti-drug officers
- Improve police and firefighter training
- Hire more firefighters and police officers to respond
to multiple emergencies
- Increase police patrols to protect our neighborhoods,
parks and areas surrounding our schools
- Purchase safety equipment, such as protective clothing
and breathing apparatuses for firefighters
|
| Q: |
Why was the
Public Safety Measure needed? |
| A: |
The state had taken $4 million from
Selma city government to deal with the state budget crisis.
The state’s fiscal problems only reinforced the fact that we
could not rely on Sacramento to fund our needs. Additionally,
Selma is one of the fastest growing cities in the
country—our population will increase by more than 51% to
nearly 33,000 people by 2015. Unfortunately our public
safety services have not kept up with growth. Selma
would be unable to maintain public safety services, let alone
keep up with the growth, without these additional funds.
|
| Q: |
How can I be
sure that Public Safety money is being spent as promised? |
| A: |
The Public
Safety Measure
included strong fiscal accountability protections,
such as annual, independent financial audits and an
Independent Citizens Oversight Committee that will monitor
spending and guarantee that all funds are being spent as
promised.
|
| Q: |
How can I find out more information? |
| A: |
If you would like to find out more about
these issues, please contact Fire Chief Jeff Kestly at
891-2270. |
