Islanders for
Collaborative Policing Statement in Support of a County Tax
January 22, 2013
Islanders for Collaborative Policing strongly supports a new
county tax to improve services for the mentally ill and chemically dependent.
We also support a City Council resolution, considered on January 23, expressing
Bainbridge approval for this measure.
The Mentally Illness and Drug Dependency (MIDD) tax will
benefit the mentally impaired and their families. But the new tax will also
benefit our police officers, and improve the quality of local policing. Mental
illness and chemical dependency create complicated crisis situations, and yet
we, as a community, expect our officers to handle these situations with few
resources, limited information, and, until recently (and at least for some of
our officers) woefully inadequate training. MIDD revenues will strengthen the local
system of mental health services, and, in doing so, reduce the occurrence of
crisis situations. (Police involvement usually indicates that no treatment is
taking place, or that treatment is failing.) When crisis situations occur, MIDD
funding will give officers a better mental health system to work with and more
resources in the field. MIDD revenues, we hope, will also be used to fund
crisis intervention training. Increased funding for officer training in the
city’s 2013 budget is a good start. MIDD funds will, potentially, expand
training opportunities and insure consistency of service throughout the county.
It is well worth thinking about how officers in neighboring jurisdictions are
trained since they frequently assist Bainbridge officers.
One final thought. Islanders for Collaborative Policing
thinks police accountability and scrutiny are important. But support of our
officers is important, too. We approve of the MIDD tax because it reflects our
commitment to our officers, and our desire to help them perform their job in a
safe, humane, and effective way. Mental impairment is a community issue, not
just a policing issue. We are happy to pay a one tenth of a one percent tax to
encourage a more holistic effort.
Related link: Kitsap Judges speak out in support of a Kitsap MIDD tax.
Related link: Kitsap Judges speak out in support of a Kitsap MIDD tax.
