Tallahassee city limits has continued to expand at a rapid pace to the point where the City Police Department has grown to point that we have ended up with TWO "comepteing" Law Enforcement Agencies, in other words TWO traffic units, TWO SWAT teams, TWO Dispatch Centers etc.. etc... Our Sheriff continues to serve the people of Leon County whether they live INSIDE or OUTSIDE of City Limits.. Citizens INSIDE the CITY who wish to recieve service from Sheriff's Office simply dial (850) 922-3300 instead of 911....
to futher complicate the situation the CITY dispatches for the POLICE DEPARTMENT and FIRE DEPARTMENT, and the COUNTY dispatches for the SHERIFF and EMS... which is a whole other issue, that will be resolved under consolidation.. the question is should the VOTERS have choice whether they want an ELECTED Sheriff or an APPOINTED Police Chief.... and I say YES
OK
I don't know about Leon County,FL, but here in Bay County, FL they tend to cooperate. And if they are competing, what are they competing for? (competition ain't all that bad). I can't think there's that big a difference between two places that are less than a one hour drive apart.
Centralization is not good. You can't put all the eggs in one basket. Otherwise, just have the federal gov't do the whole thing and forget it. Or maybe we let the state do it.
Law enforcement needs to be local to as great a degree as is workable.