Law enforcement issues will intensify in 2007
Willis Webb

L AW ENFORCEMENT issues in Jasper County figure to intensify

in 2007. The biggest public

concern is what is considered lack of law enforcement presence, particularly in the eyes of residents in the northernmost and southernmost reaches of the county.

Over the past couple of years, the din of vocal complaints of vocal complaints about officer presence has become louder and more constant.

Those complaints are justified because in some areas there has been an increase in certain types of criminal activity, most of it fueled by drug addicts and their suppliers.

There have been some opportunities for at least partial relief of those situations, but residents in those two areas have rejected those ideas. Part of the reason for the rejections have been the lack of a solid plan to increase law enforcement presence without adding some significant tax burden to affected residents.

A proposal for incorporation of Buna and the implementation of some taxing structure, mostly perceived as a retail sales tax, was soundly defeated. Incorporation proponents saw the issue as a way to create a police force to protect Buna from crimes committed by illicit drug users and pushers.

In the summer of 2005, commissioners court held hearings aimed at eliminating two each of the six justice of the peace and constable positions, Precincts 5 (north) and 6 (south, Evadale). However, a comprehensive possibility to place more deputies in each area was not properly linked to the elimination of the positions and residents of both areas predictably made enough noise that commissioners dropped the idea of eliminating the elected law enforcement positions.

While the elimination of those two precincts would have given the county a cost savings of approximately $500,000, there appeared to be no dialogue between commissioners and the sheriff's department to see how much of that savings could've been applied to actually putting more deputies in each of the affected areas. Thus, they had no viable “sales pitch” to residents of either area to give up elected officials in exchange for county employed deputies assigned to roundthe clock patrol.

This business of a lack of law enforcement presence will most certainly be an issue in the 2008 Jasper County Sheriff's election.

While it is too early to say with any certainty who the candidates will be, the local grapevine indicates current Sheriff Ronnie McBride will seek a second term. Beyond that, it is a guessing game as to any other candidate.

Anyone who wears the sheriff's badge in this county is going to be subject to criticism such as the lack of law enforcement presence.

A major part of that problem is a lack of funds to hire additional personnel to have a 24-hour presence in all sections of the county. The budget is set by the Jasper County Commissioners Court.

What Jasper County residents will have to determine is how much of the problem they can attribute to the sheriff and how much of the turkey should be hung on commissioners court.

Of course, if there is no contested race, it will be a moot point but with all the elevated concerns about law enforcement presence and perhaps some other issues, it seems almost a certainty that there will be other candidates in the race.

Willis Webb is editor and publisher of The Jasper Newsboy. He can be reached by calling 409/384-3441, by writing to P.O. Box 1419, Jasper, Texas 75951-1419 or by email to wwebb@jaspernewsboy.com.