The chief's LOL moment | Tim Talk | Tim Hunt | PleasantonWeekly.com |

Local Blogs

Tim Talk

By Tim Hunt

E-mail Tim Hunt

About this blog: I am a native of Alameda County, grew up in Pleasanton and currently live in the house I grew up in that is more than 100 years old. I spent 39 years in the daily newspaper business and wrote a column for more than 25 years in add...  (More)

View all posts from Tim Hunt

The chief's LOL moment

Uploaded: May 23, 2013
Speaking to a group of Centerpointe Church men this week, Police Chief Dave Spiller observed that he is still asked whether BART increases crime perpetrated by non-residents.
Certainly, BART parking lots can be targets, but those are patrolled by BART police and are not Pleasanton's responsibility.
Dave, like yours truly, asks just how likely it is for a thief to scoop up an armful of jeans at JCPenney and then run across the parking lot and into the BART station to wait for the next train to get out of Dodge.
That said, he related his latest LOL moment (that's laugh out loud for non-texting folks of my generation). Reviewing his email for the latest updates one morning, he broke out laughing when his officers reported arresting an ambitious thief who had heisted a 50-inch TV set from Walmart and was dragging it toward the Dublin-Pleasanton BART station along Owens Drive.
As the chief says, "we do catch the dumb ones."
It reminded me again to never say never.
During his visit with the men, Dave also related the challenges of running the department with the six frozen positions that he agreed a few years back when the city was feeling financial pressure from the recession. That is saving more than $1.2 million a year because paying for an officer with fully loaded costs is $202,000 a year—less than half of that is salary.
The challenge is that through normal attrition there are five funded positions (the authorized number of sworn officers is 87 positions with six frozen) that are currently vacant and being actively recruited. Mix in the typical temporary disability from work-related issues and covering patrol shifts can become challenging.
IN OTHER NEWS, Las Positas College President Kevin Walthers officially is headed for Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria.
Walters, as I reported earlier, was the top candidate and was formally approved by the board on a 4-1 vote this week. The dissenting trustee, as reported by the Santa Maria Times, based her vote on her doubt as to whether Walters, an Anglo, had enough experience with Hispanics to serve a district with a high student population of first-generation students and a majority of Latinos.
What was unusual was the contract was for just one year, starting July 8.
Community.
What is it worth to you?

Comments

Posted by Tim Hunt, a resident of Castlewood,
on May 23, 2013 at 5:05 pm

Tim Hunt is a registered user.

The terms of the contract were erroneously stated. It is a three-year contract with an annual review that can result in an extension.


Posted by liberalism is a disease, a resident of Birdland,
on May 24, 2013 at 1:21 pm

liberalism is a disease is a registered user.

So only ambitious criminals use BART? Interesting, when our fellow posters have been telling us all along that BART won't bring more crime to our city...........maybe they were just referring to the unambitious perps.


Follow this blogger.
Sign up to be notified of new posts by this blogger.

Email:

SUBMIT

Post a comment

Sorry, but further commenting on this topic has been closed.

Stay informed.

Get the day's top headlines from PleasantonWeekly.com sent to your inbox in the Express newsletter.

How quickly will we electrify our homes?
By Sherry Listgarten | 13 comments | 2,653 views

Transgender controversy played out at Dublin High track meet
By Tim Hunt | 25 comments | 2,243 views

Eligibility in the Local Context (ELC)
By Elizabeth LaScala | 0 comments | 541 views

 

2023 guide to summer camps

Looking for something for the kids to do this summer, learn something new and have fun? The Summer Camp Guide features local camps for all ages and interests.

Find Camps Here