Building a Safer Community

As a career law enforcement professional and as the Board Chairman of the East Lincoln Fire Department, I am more than just aware of the need for leadership when we consider public safety in our county.

I am fortunate enough to have the experience in both dealing with large budgets to make sure that needs are being met, but I also get to see firsthand what happens to those most impacted by these services.
One thing that I think all reasonable citizens will agree on is that they recognize the need to properly fund our public safety entities, whether it be law enforcement, fire departments or other emergency services.

It is also incumbent upon those running for office to understand that the public’s pocket book is not limitless and we cannot, especially in such dire economic times as these, ask for increases that are unjustified and we should be looking closely at every dollar spent to make sure that we are allocating our limited resources the right way.

Such oversight requires discipline and experience in dealing with large budgets and with people who may have the best intentions but fail to understand that we simply cannot expand programs without justification.

Many empty words are spoken during campaigns about increasing this program or that one but I would contend that law enforcement is not rocket science and that sometimes tough decisions have to be made, particularly as tax dollars are distributed.

Certainly, I recognize the need for continued training as I have done throughout my entire career. We must always try to stay three steps ahead of the criminal element in our community to limit their ability to infringe upon our individual freedoms by having the most well trained law enforcement departments in the area.

Yet, we must also keep in mind that simply adding numbers to our force does not necessarily make for a safer community.

A combination of well-trained and competitively paid professional career law enforcement personnel will be key to decreasing criminal activity.

I am very disturbed by some of the crimes that have increased in the past several years in Lincoln County.

As a husband and a father, the fact that instances of rape have more than doubled since 2006 greatly concerns me as it should any law abiding citizen. You and I should never have to worry unnecessarily about the safety of our loved ones when they go about their daily lives.

Motor vehicle theft has also doubled during the same time frame.

Property crimes also concern me as it contributes to the declining of our quality of life.

We have a very diverse community from the more rural western part to the highly populated eastern end of the county.

There are very different mind sets in all areas and we must respect that and appreciate it.

As the chief executive of our law enforcement agency, I understand that we cannot apply a one-size-fits-all approach to deal with public safety throughout Lincoln County.

I pledge to you that I will always act first with the best interests of all county residents in mind, second that I will be a good steward of public dollars, and third, that I will surround myself by people who will always act lawfully and not embarrass our pride in our communities.

I am writing to you today to ask for your input regarding how we all can effectively defend our county from the criminal element and make our county a safer place to live, work and play.

Sincerely,

PS – Feel free to write to me at info@walkerforsheriff.org with any input, questions or concerns that you may have.

Paid for by Marc Walker for Sheriff, Jason Saine, Treasurer