Editorial: Analysis of police is off-base

When it was revealed in September that Las Vegas had been secretly reviewing the possibility of seceding from the city-county Metro Police department, City Hall staffers suggested that the municipality could save $15 million a year if it created its own police department. But virtually no one outside of City Hall believed these savings could be realized without also diminishing public safety.

Following a public backlash to the possibility of splitting up the police department, the city ruled out establishing its own police force. Instead the city went ahead with an efficiency study of Metro Police in an attempt to identify areas where the municipality was being overcharged for police services. When the report was released two weeks ago the city cited $4.1 million in savings that the city could realize if Metro Police changed some of its operations or reallocated some costs currently borne by the city. But now that Metro Police has had an opportunity to fully scrutinize the city's report, the police department has determined that the city's numbers just don't add up. After examining Metro Police's two-inch thick review of the numbers released Wednesday, it is obvious the city often engaged in poor research that resulted in faulty projections of savings.

Just one example of this sloppiness was the city's claim that it was being overcharged for its contribution to Metro Police's helicopter unit; the city believed the county should absorb the costs instead. Noting rescues of stranded hikers at Red Rock Canyon, the city asserted that Air Support / Search and Rescue Section's focus was primarily rural and outside city limits. These rescue missions are dramatic and result in much media attention, but the facts suggest most of the time is spent on day-to-day policing that benefits the city. For instance, of the 3,674 calls for service that Air Support received, 1,936 -- or 52.7 percent -- were at addresses located within Las Vegas city limits. The city thought it could save $400,000 by eliminating its contribution for this service, but it is clear that Las Vegas is benefitting from the unit, which also provides tactical support for urban SWAT teams.

The city's analysis was flawed, but that doesn't mean Metro Police -- and local governments for that matter -- shouldn't be searching for ways to save taxpayer money and provide services more efficiently. In the area of public safety, though, elected officials should be careful not to slash government services in an effort to save money if the end result means less security for the public.

If there was ever a time for a "just the facts, ma'am" approach to a controversial issue, this was it. Despite the strong emotions this issue has provoked, Sheriff Jerry Keller was tactful and eschewed any inflamatory rhetoric at his news conference on Wednesday when he outlined Metro Police's response. Now that the jawboning is over, all elected officials should start working together on addressing the public safety needs of this growing metropolitan area, rather than sowing the seeds of discord.

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