Years ago somebody published an opinion poll that consistently
ranked the Michigan State Police higher than any other police agency,
including the local sheriffs, when it comes to public confidence.
Seems most folks trust the men and women in blue more than the
folks in brown.
So needless to say there's been some off and on legislative battles
between the two law enforcement entities and years ago it turned real
nasty when the sheriffs asked for an got what they call secondary road
patrol funds.
The state cops didn't much like that since the money that could
have gone to them went to the other guys.
Now comes a document that suggests the elimination of all the state
cop road patrols and while the document did not say so, the inference
is, if that is done, the sheriffs could takeover at a lower cost.
And one Granholm administration source suggested the state could
hire three deputies for the cost of one Smokey.
Well when word of that reached the State Troopers Association
(union), the leadership came unglued and fired off a rebuttal.
President Chris Luty rattled-off some numbers that he claims
disproved that notion but his figures did not include retirement costs
and one source says that's where the savings are. To add to his
argument he also suggested his troops were better at solving crimes
than the competition.
Oh, that will create some holiday joy over at the Sheriff"s
Association where the CEO says he does not want the road patrol jobs in
the first place.
"We have a shortage of officers everywhere" and disbanding the
troopers road patrol units is a non-starter for Terry Junkel who wants
to be friends with the troopers.
One assumes the feeling is mutual.