Republican Steve Kraus told Erie County commissioners Thursday that local law enforcement agencies should immediately begin taking steps to form a task force against violence, citing Wednesday's killing and five previous murders in Sandusky this year.
"How many innocent people must die?" Kraus asked. "How much blood needs to be spilled before action will be taken? It is a crime for our county commissioners to sit on their hands and do nothing during an election season."
Erie County commissioner Tom Ferrell Jr., the man Kraus hopes to unseat, also reiterated his longstanding support for a task force, as did Huron councilman Brad Hartung, an independent also seeking to dethrone Ferrell from the seat he’s held for the last 24 years.
"Law enforcement people should come up with a bank of hours from all departments across the county,” Hartung said. “Then the municipalities and townships should pay for the equipment and help put it together. It should be (under the) sheriff's department, making it a regional collaboration."
But Erie County sheriff Paul Sigsworth said that while he appreciates the concern Kraus and others have expressed, a violent crime task force would not solve the underlying problems.
“This was a domestic violence incident,” Sigsworth said of Wednesday's murder. “The best way to deal with domestic violence is educating people and helping them find ways to escape from bad situations.”
Safe Harbor, a grant-funded domestic violence shelter that provides counseling services and referral services, has already formed a countywide domestic violence task force that meets regularly with local police departments, prosecutors and other victim advocates.
The sheriff’s annual budget is about $6 million, and every law enforcement agency must operate within its individual budget, Sigsworth said.
There is no funding source for a violent crime task force.
Besides, Sigsworth said, the sheriff's office and police departments throughout Erie County have strong mutual aid agreements and excellent cooperation already.
“We constantly discuss amongst ourselves, 'Is there anything we can do to try and prevent these issues from happening?"' Sigsworth said. "We are more than willing to do anything we can do to assist (local) agencies in the prevention of violent crime.”
That’s expected, he said.
“Our bosses are the taxpayers and they expect that you will cooperate with other agencies,” he said. “That’s the way things should be done.”
The other independent in the four-man race for Ferrell’s commission seat, Dick Brady, resisted Kraus’ demand for immediate action.
Brady and Kraus tangled previously on this same issue.
"We cannot allow these random acts of violence to define any of our communities,” Brady said. “Characterizing Sandusky as a blighted and problematic community due to a handful of incidents is to ignore all of the positive things and good people that this city represents.”
Kraus was undeterred after asking county commissioners Thursday to push forward with a new task force.
"If they won't act, I promise I will," Kraus said. "Many say, 'Sandusky is a diamond in the rough.' After yet another murder (Wednesday), many will say 'Sandusky equates to a lump of coal."'
Kraus said he'll search for federal grants and he would even ask executives representing Cedar Point or Kalahari to contribute money to the effort.
"It's in their best interest that tourists come here and don't get raped or murdered," Kraus said about local executives fronting money for a task force.
Comments
Really? And what would a task force do that would have prevented this week's violence?
Would the task force have had a psychic on board who would have warned us? Would the task force have stationed law enforcement officers in every home in the County so as to nip any violence in the bud?
I agree with Sigsworth: Law enforcement ALREADY cooperates. Law enforcement ALREADY participates in programs such as that involving Safe Harbor. And as for Safe Harbor, while their education efforts are worthy and their sheltering is of great benefit to those who need it, they, too, didn't issue warnings concerning this latest victim or her accused killer. Why not? Because all the programs and meetings and discussions and cooperation in the word can't predict or prevent everything, that's why not!
While I don't question the motives behind Mr. Kraus' rhetoric, I do question the sensibility of it all. Sure, it sounds great during an election season. But what would it really do that hasn't already been done? Besides spending still more dollars the cash-strapped county and its cities don't have, I mean?
Kraus suggests that "it's a crime" for nothing to be done, "especially during an election season." Oh, really? You mean some people suddenly become more important when you're soliciting votes than they might be at other times? Still more proof that this is campaign season unicorns and rainbows as opposed to anything new or more effective.
I liked a lot of what I knew of Kraus as a candidate. Now? Not so much. It's not whether or not he cares about Erie County residents, but rather that his idea is redundant, wouldn't appreciably increase anybody's safety, but WOULD cost lots of money. As a result, Mr. Kraus just became just another politician in my book. And I've frankly had more than enough of THOSE!
Amen, Samantha.
Thanks to Mr. Kraus for bringing the blood spilled issue to our attention. Seeing that everyone has just been sitting on their hands and has had no knowledge? Is it just me or is that an asinine statement? Does he really think everyone is just "looking the other way"? I agree with Sam Adams. Check out my other comment below.
FYI
Sandusky Crime Rate Report (Ohio)
Home > Crime Statistics > Ohio > Sandusky
The city violent crime rate for Sandusky in 2010 was higher than the national violent crime rate average by 46.42% and the city property crime rate in Sandusky was higher than the national property crime rate average by 70.5%.
In 2010 the city violent crime rate in Sandusky was higher than the violent crime rate in Ohio by 87.49% and the city property crime rate in Sandusky was higher than the property crime rate in Ohio by 54.56%.
So according to the Sheriff, everything is fine and law enforcement has it all under control?? I personally do not walk the streets of Sandusky after dark. It really is turning into little Detroit.
While we can never eliminate ALL acts of violence, bringing the drug trade to a halt in Sandusky (and the rest of Erie County) would go a LONG way toward reducing crime/violence so bringing back a Drug Task Force is a NO-BRAINER!
Stocks and Gallows seem better.
The most unamerican thing I think I've ever heard...
The cost of a nation of incarceration - CBS News
www.cbsnews.com/8301-3445_162-57......
Apr 22, 2012 ... Our epidemic of incarceration costs us taxpayers $63.4 billion a year. The explosion in incarceration began in the early 1970s
Let's start up the old chair again, with less time for them on death row. You do the crime you should have no extra chances. Let's start up the speed lane. JUST SAYIN
I'm not even in favor of a "DRUG TASKFORCE" that does nothing except arrest low level users and dealers. Why, because it doesn't do any long term good.
A taskforce works well investigating a series of specific, similiar crimes that have touched different cities, jurisditions or areas. "Violence" isn't specific.
By the way, Sandusky is not a "Little Detroit". The more we say that it is, the sooner it really will be.
The more good people stay away from the streets of OUR city, the more freedom criminals have to prey on those who happen to be out.
There are more of us (real citizens) then criminals. THEY SHOULD BE AFRAID OF US, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND!!!!
LET'S WORK ON MAKING THAT HAPPEN
I would email Mr Ferrell my thoughts but he does not use email. I would call Mr Ferrell with my ideas but he does not publish his telephone number in any of the phone directories. He is not in any of the 2011-2012 phone directories. Why???? I guess I will look for him at the fitness center in the morning or one of the bars he frequesnts in the afternoon.
Dick Brady says, "We cannot allow these random acts of violence to define any of our communities,” Brady said. “Characterizing Sandusky as a blighted and problematic community due to a handful of incidents is to ignore all of the positive things and good people that this city represents.”
Hats off to Dick Brady!
Sheriff Sigsworth is right.
Kraus is the lump of coal.
Amen!!!
I personally like Kraus. After reading the letter from his wife in the SR, I like him even more.
Tom Ferrell, Jr. is the one in my book that's a lump of coal!
Sam Adams
Really, so Sandusky should do nothing as crime escalates. And who says it needs to cost the taxpayer a damn dime? I see that nowhere in Kraus' statement. Have you read the newspaper...what about the rape of a woman on Park Street, what about the home invasion, what about the gang of youths that nearly beat to death a homeowner on his lawn. You can really keep pushing the MAntra that things are great and everyone should move to Sandusky. You cannot shine a turd. We have lost population because as soon as people better themselves they move to Perkins, Huron, or Milan. they do not stay. When Sandusky Schools gave school choice....there was a mass exodus to Perkins. Tell me what businesses are downtown that pay a great wage?J Bistro's, the Wine Bar, and the Zinc will not make the neighborhood a better place to live. We need good paying jobs and businesses will not locate downtown because of crime. ......doing nothing has gotten us where we are...6 murders and rampant crime.
Beat street.
If you arrest the low level users you shrink demand and dealers go elsewhere and out of the county.
dG Mutley
You can put icing on a crap cake but it will still taste like crap.
Look at the Murder rate for Detroit and then for Sandusky. Detroit has one murder for every 15,000 persons. Cleveland one murder for every 37,000 persons. Sanusky one for every 4,200. Detroiters are saying they are glad they are not Sandusky.
Time to quit sweeping our problems under the rug and crack down and take out the trash!
No, Totenkoff, I'm not saying Sandusky should do nothing. I'm saying another "task force" would be useless where any actual prevention of crime is concerned. Fubar79 has a MUCH better idea, especially since that might actually WORK...
I do not care if it election season or not, something needs to be done with the growing trend of crime in the city. What is it going to take to get people to stand up for their community? Sandusky was once a great place to visit and spend some money at the local establishments, but it seems like the good people of Sandusky is sitting back and watching their home and livelihood get flushed down the toilet!!!
Take a look at what one Oregon towns people are doing to help the Police and themselves…
“But people in this traditionally self-reliant section of timber country aren't about to raise taxes to put more officers on the road. Instead, some folks in Josephine County, larger than the state of Rhode Island, are taking matters into their own hands — mounting flashing lights on their trucks and strapping pistols to their hips to guard communities themselves. Others have put together a virtual neighborhood watch, using Facebook to share tips and information.”
"I believe in standing up for myself rather than waiting for the government to do something for me," said Sam Nichols, a retired marina manager.
“Nichols has organized a posse of about a dozen fed-up residents who have started patrolling the small community of O'Brien, which has about 750 residents.”
"We call ourselves the CAC Patrol, Citizens Against Crime," he said.
“Separately, a retired sheriff's deputy in a community about 10 miles away has started a Facebook page called "To Catch a Thief," an open group that has nearly 1,200 members who post reports of crimes that aren't priorities for the county sheriff's office.”
"In a rural community like this, we all know each other, and we're all related," said Carol Dickson, who started the group about three months ago and posts regularly.
"People know who's doing this," she said of the property crimes around Cave Junction, a town of nearly 2,000 people about 30 miles from the county seat of Grants Pass.
"They are getting tired of it," Dickson said. "They are speaking up, and they are saying, 'Enough.'"
The people of this once great city need to stand their ground and take the streets back from the hoodlums that run ramped. The future of the city (the children) will be lost if we continue to turn our back and have a blind eye to the mayhem that is overtaking Sandusky……
STAND UP SANDUSKY
He'll yeah FUBAR....I like that MOXY!
What's the City Commission plan to make Sandusky safe? We need to fight crime not embrace it.
Unless they are a task force of psychic detectives this is a idiotic idea. Maybe if he said he wanted to start a force tasked with violence education it would make more sense.
Yeah, I love the psychic argument....the same could be said that you never know when a bank robbery or drug deal will go down so why try to fight crime. That statement and argument is just idiotic. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that Sandusky has 1/3 of the County's population but 2/3rds of all of the County's poor. Everybody is educated enough to know that murder, rape, and home invasion is wrong. Anti poverty programs such as jobs helps eliminate the stress of poverty and such crimes ....but businesses and people won't move to an area with high crime.....so break out the cops with the billy clubs and make an example of a few of these morons and things will get better. deterrence is a great otivation to shape up.
Based on the above article, it looks as if only one candidate, Dick Brady, understands that the role of law enforcement at the county level falls to the Sheriff (Sigsworth), also an elected official. For Kraus, Ferrell and Hartung to believe they know better than someone who has devoted their entire career to law enforcement is irresponsible and not fitting of a community leader.
What about chief Lang? Are you calling him a dummy? He as stated a number of time in publi that he needs more resources. Why didn't the Register ask Lang his thoughts on the Sandusky crime spree? After all it is his territory.....oh that's right.....Lang is a Republican and the Register is so much in the tank for Democrats it's not funny......nothing to see here people....just get one side of the story.
We had a Drug Task Force and nothing improved. Just who is going to pay for the Drug Task Force? The cops have so many leads about drugs in town and nothing happens. All the neighbors know where the drug houses are in their neighborhoods. Some drug houses are visibly marked by the tennis shoes hanging from the overhead wires.
lets be proactive for a change instead of reactive ...
I think Sheriff Sigsworth knows better than anyone on what and needs to be done. Unfortunately, like all of our law enforcement agencies he is strapped for resources. Manpower, money, etc. He has to work with what he has and does a good job in my opinion with that. Look at it this way, can the Fire Department put out a fire better with 3 men or 20? Same thing applies here. Police presence is a powerful thing as is the education aspect that the Sheriff refers to. We cant arm-chair quarterback the Sheriff's Dept. The ONLY thing that we can do is willingly get behind and support our law enforcement in what ever way we can, then things get better! We are either part of the problem or part of the solution. YOU DECIDE which one to be! My hat is off to Sheriff Sigsworth and his Deputies.