Public Safety

By George McNeil

One of the primary functions of government is to insure the safety of its citizens.

Everyone supports public safety but not all Council members are willing to pay the price necessary to provide for that appropriate safety. In Oceanside previous councils have been woefully inadequate in their support of our police and fire services. Our response times for fire and medical personnel have been far below the recommended figures. Our residents' lives and properties are at stake here and poor response times in emergency situations are simply unacceptable.

Fortunately, our current Council majority is trying to rectify the situation by adding a new station in the Peacock Hills region and is considering another station in the Ocean Hills area. Both of these sections of Oceanside have been neglected in the past and I heartily support both additional stations and will seriously consider any other measures that will reduce our unacceptable response times.

Our police to resident ratio is one of the worst in San Diego County. We simply do not have enough police to protect us. I feel that two actions should be explored. The obvious one is the hiring of more police officers The Senior Patrol Program that we currently have is excellent and could be duplicated in other functions.