Houston Democrats

I really don't have any experience with these kinds of issues. I think Aiyer's proposal has merit. I would prefer to see a more detailed outline of the case for switching to Aiyer's proposed plan, and how the academy at HCCS would be established and run.

Some have raised concerns about having a private entity such as HCCS training firefighters and policemen. Yet community colleges already provide most of the training for medical technicians, nurses, EMS teams etc., so it doesn't seem like too much of a stretch to expand to training firefighters and policemen in a partnership with the city. Plus, if other community colleges run similar programs for other law-enforcement agencies in the area, it seems there would be examples of how to implement such a proposal, and possible areas where it could be refined. I think as long as the city and police leadership had oversight of the program, and as long as the trainees could meet all the completion requirements of the current system, safety is not put at risk.

One concern I do have with using community colleges is that many community colleges are running on very tight budgets in large part due to a cut in their budgets by state and federal governments. I think Dateline or a PBS documentary had a report on the financial situation of community colleges. Asking a community college system to do more could pose a problem if it did not receive funding for the proposed training program. Some community colleges are already having to raise their rates to cover budget shortfalls and/or layoff employees. Some colleges have had to turn away students because they do not have the resources to meet the demand.

I think this proposal deserves discussion since some areas of Houston have severe shortages in manpower. One of the local news stations had a report on the situation in one precinct in southwest Houston where there were only two or three police officers to patrol the entire area. The number of crimes in the precinct has increased. So obviously, there are areas of Houston where public safety is already at risk, and could badly use more officers.

I think something to consider is if, as Jay Aiyer says on his web site, that it costs $2.8 million for a cadet class of 70, then how many police could the proposal prepare and at what cost? To me it doesn't really seem like adding just 70 new cadets a year is really sufficient to keep up with the need for new police in the entire city of Houston. I mean there are retirements, unfortunately deaths while on duty, all while the city of Houston is growing bigger and bigger in population numbers and area.

I guess the biggest thing to keep in mind is if the current system is keeping up with what is required to maintain public safety? If not, then is there an alternative method that could provide the same services at the same level of quality while helping to balance the city's deficit?

Do the cadets have service commitments in exchange for the training? What's the rate of attrition for policemen at HPD? How many of them leave for other jobs?