Hello my friends and supporters. I see the saga continues. See MaJo press release below.

By and large, most law enforcement jurisdictions dislike these "advisory" councils. They begin to take on a life of their own once established, try to conduct Grand Jury type reviews, and are used as platforms to push individual/societal agendas, particularly along the perceived and divisive lines of profiling, redlining, discrimination and so called police/public safety abuse and use of force. These councils/groups ultimately are used to undermine the elected policy makers by forcing them into untenable positions and attempt to force policy and ordinance positions on the elected officials. I speak from experience, having to have dealt with them in Oakland, Berkeley, Richmond, San Francisco and Vallejo.

Covertly, this political maneuver is meant to show a lack of support for the men and women who put their lives on the line daily when they put on their uniform and badge, and is a real shot at public safety administration, particularly the police chief and the city manager. We all ready have a Police Advisory Council- the West Sacramento City Council, the West Sacramento City Manager and the West Sacramento Police Chief and safety staff, and most importantly the voters of West Sacramento.

Share/post this email as you wish with anyone. My initial thoughts only. This diversion was proposed by a previous council member and it went down 4-1, thankfully. It is a red herring and is nothing more than a pandering attempt by an anxious, "what can I do next," individual who will do anything to gain a few votes. It is obvious that his proposal is just another drowning attempt to try to muster some positive public opinion after his disastrous and failed attempt to buy the office of Mayor. Numerous methods already exist to resolve any individual/group concerns regarding our fine men and women in the safety ranks, and another layer of government/bureaucracy would do nothing but slow down and slash already critical resources in this area of public safety. I would be curious as to what the rank and file safety staff of West Sacramento feel about a non elected, non answerable group of individuals having sway over every decision they make. Please consider this message and lobby the elected's and the community to discard this over the top attempt at circumventing our elected officials in West Sacramento. We have the best Police Department and Fire Department that I know of. These fine men and women do not need to be relegated to second class status by politics and the political ambitions of one individual.

Greg R. Potnick

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Johannessen Proposes Chief's Advisory Council

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Johannessen
(916) 371-0661
November 13, 2008

WEST SACRAMENTO, CA
On November 12, 2008, West Sacramento City Councilmember Mark Johannessen announced an initiative to create a Chief's Advisory Council.
"Through listening to folks in the community it has become clear to me that a recurring issue of concern to West Sacramento residents, particularly those affected by the gang injunction in Bryte and Broderick, is the relationship between the police and residents", said Johannessen. "In order to build trust between the police and residents and to strengthen that relationship, I proposed to Council the creation of a 'Chief's Advisory Council' ".
The advisory council, according to Johannessen, would be comprised of residents selected from throughout West Sacramento. The members would meet with the police on a regular basis to discuss issues such as crime, blight, and other law enforcement issues particular to their neighborhoods. The members of the group would receive some training by the police department similar to that received by members of the police "VIP" program (Volunteers in Policing), to gain an understanding of law enforcement from a policing perspective and to build relationships between the advisory group members and members of the police department.
"Public safety has always been an essential part of my comprehensive plan for taking West Sacramento to the next level", said Johannessen. "Engaging the community in policing will have the effect of not only making our law enforcement efforts more effective, but will build community trust that is essential to the success of those efforts, and will build a better community."

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