The Dover Police Academy has existed for five years, and during those same five years, crime in Dover has increased to its highest levels.
We are told the academy is necessary because we need officers, yet only about 25% of academy graduates come to the Dover Police Department.
At the same time, between three and fifteen officers are assigned to operate the academy instead of patrolling our neighborhoods. Constituents continue to ask for increased patrols and are told there is not enough funding and not enough officers.
The academy also operates at a deficit of more than $405,000, and that cost is ultimately pushed onto the taxpayers. Those officers still have to be paid regardless. The question is whether they are better utilized in the academy or on our streets combating crime.
The Police Department has also failed to consistently provide itemized expenditure figures, despite Council’s need for meaningful oversight and the public’s right to transparency.
With crime increasing and the City beginning this budget cycle with a deficit exceeding $7 million, it is reasonable to ask hard questions.
If the academy is operating at a deficit, crime is rising, and residents are being told there are not enough officers, how does continuing the current model make financial or public safety sense? What holds more weight in the community the presence of the officers or the police academy? Our officers better serve the community in the community working to combat crime it’s a partnership.
Chelle Paul
Dover
