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Show 4 Political Comment Records Merger Needed - Nowt .... nty LAKE mm , departments. Law enforcement, like water supply and sewage disposal, are metropolitan problems in the local character. A metropolitan records function is integral to any successful solution to the problem of law enforcement. The effective, efficient law enforcement Juddy Nielsen promised his supporters can be achieved ONLY by a of records functions. The function must be in the same facility under a contract jointly operated ' it ; agreement. Or, most be operated by one agency for both ' of them. the in Sheriff Nielsen, past, assuming city police would ? retain control, has had cause to suspect police control si objectives and methods. t have observed and Mr, Nielsen . . The Review that the city has been inclined to use records for all that to help create the public s can be squeezed out of them I image. . They have used records for far in excess of what I is desirable for effective, economical performance, can, p The -- city s . stand: We can tell .you .. 1 tell you almost anything. Mr, N ielsen feels records approach ; should be geared to What do we need to know? " The sheriff has felt he couldnt afford the cost of sharing I in production of superfluous records service. At the other extreme city police and others have complained frequently and consistently that their records system is not for them. It has been developed as a show I piece something to be guarded rather than something to use. Contents of police records are protected behind I layer after layer of adhesive red tape. I Mr. Nielsen resists becoming subject to such control of records. I It is the first function of police records to serve the in the performance of his duty in the field. The I officer information in records must first be geared for availability I to the patrolmen. He needs utility records. It is a second function of records to serve the administra- tion in its plans for Implementing the attack on police ! problems. For the officer, records provide information on I people: criminals, victims of criminals, witnesses, to ion .... .... , .-- They .... .... crimes. j They include information on crimes: where they happened, when they occurred, how they were committed, by whom. I Who investigated them. Who was involved? The greater the detail that can be included in records ; t as to be rapidly recovered from the records, the more valuable they are. j The more effectively information can be categorized, : the more efficiently that information can be put into use. Administration uses records to evaluate problems land to evaluate the measures being taken to meet situations. : What Idnds of people are creating problems; what kinds of people or places are made victims; how many are involved, where, in what kinds of problems? What steps can be taken to alleviate crime or problem I ; so I .... 1 I pressures? Those are records value criteria. Records also are available to other police and public agencies to handle problems which ertend beyond local police limits. The public needs to be aware of existing problems in their community lives. Records, however, can be tampered with they can be used to improve a crime picture they can be used to make an administration look, good . ..they can be used to show the need of more money, facilities or personnel; a need that is not real. Salt Lake City has many statistics available in its it has more to show its performance than it I records . does to solve its problems. Too often, as the sheriff re- -j sents, accumulation of unnecessary data is given priority I over actual police needs. the sheriff is to be induced into a cooperative effort, If it appears positive, he will control records. It is likely that he will be reluctant tp provide unnecessary service. Commissioner Jim Barker has indicated that he would . go along with that kind of streamlining. .... .... ... $ f I ; skJt0nBMEW - Published every Thursday by Great 'Western News; Inc. Offices at &Z45 South West Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah 84115 Phone: 487-74- 01 ( Rosenblatt Entered as second class matter at the Post Office at Salt Lake City, Utah under the act of March 9, 1878 Subscription $5.20 per year Utah State Press AssociaHrm 1 msviAen Wnwrtwinnf Member: - At the start of almost every county commission meeting Marv Jens cm and John Creer shake hands. Marv Jenson knows that kind of hand shake weU - hes seen it in the fight ring before the opening round. Of late the three county commissioners have tried hard to present a more harmonious public countenance Its an effort. Coaxing from Democratic party leaders encouraged this outward harmony. But the fact that it retrogresses much too often Into acrimony is a symptom of the lack of discipline in the party. The commissioners are vastly different in temperament character and background. Of the three Creer has emerged as the boy with the public . . . whether he can maintain the image over the summer and up to election time is the question party members are asking. There is evidence that within the party his batting average may have slipped. Party Insiders claim that the eager young lawyer out of Washington is too eager for headlines. As one put it he maybe pushing too hard. Although he hasnt publicly stated his political intentions this year, and though he has toyed with toe idea of running for the four year post, best odds are that hell go for toe two year commission job. Mr. Creer could get a good appointment elsewhere, but to lay the foundation for a political career hes got to win an election. While toe county commission isnt recognized as a springboard, its toe most logical jumping off place for .... .... con-soUdat- rise. fair-hair- take you on a tour of in toe know-ho- w toe Taj Mahal of Justice high rise being occupied now by Salt Lake Police. Youll notice an unusual number oi storage storage rooms on each floor rooms constructed very much like toe offices for law enforcement brass. There are so many storage rooms, it seems, that if there wasnt so much storage there coula be a lot more WITHIN toe police department, Theiv City Police could find the best part of a whole floor for housing sheriffs offices. The irony of it alb When city police planned the high rise, according to some suspicious minds, they figured it was a sure thing that by now Salt Lake City would be accommodating sheriffs token personnel in all Us divisions in total consolidation. One command level sheriffs officer with imagination suggested that if police would store less and consolidate themselves in toe empty office - or storage -space, toe sheriff could settle for mat part of toe third floor now occupied by police. Eliminate some of toe superfluous units and brass in toe police department we wouldnt need and its a shoo-i- n to mess around with add Hons or 10th floor completion. The space thats needed is already there, already finished, already wasted. Jim Barker working cm itl WOT TO RUM 60IN(i m Democratic committee meeting that picked Juddy Nielsen titled 'Have we been scuttled. During the week he author . ship of toe card was cleared up David Kranendonk, 373 North 1st West, chairman of district 177 was the man. Another outspoken Democrat is Dr. J. D. Williams. Yesterday he spoke to the Democratic Womens Club. In too many instances government by toe people has been replaced by gov-- er imeat by cronies he said, specifically referring to toe bit paver scandal. Dr. Williams then wait through the entire list - from Davey Jones through Marvs car to flood control. Hesuggest-e- d a massive letter writing campaign, a resolution of the central committee demanding Mr. Jcues resignation, a restoration of Commissioner Creer to full partnership on toe Commission or a formal censure of Larson and Jenson by toe central committee, a talent hunt for fresh able Democrats to rim for county offices this year and approval of metropolitan government. He also recommended a county-wid- e merit system, salaiy reform after the cleanup, full use of tne Interlocal Cooperation Act and a close look at the county manager system. The conscience of this party is a- roused. We have had enough, quipped Dr. Williams. Its doubtful that too many of Dr. Williams specific recommendations will be followed right now. But as a representative of one wing of the young turk set Dr. Williams may set quite a few Democrats to thinking. Marv Jenson doesnt have to run until 68. Hes said he wont then but thats toe kind of promise people can forget in two years. Marvs taken a beating from every side. Often hes deserved it, but not that often. One great failing is a lack of polish, he actually accomplishes more in the day to day routine of county business than he gets credit for. This is not to say that he has demonstrated any great capacity for leadership during his term in office. Sometimes his emotional reactions get in the way. The real test for the commission chairman in toe next few months will come in toe area of flood control. Its a tough problem, since no two groups involved can agree on toe same solution. The challenge to leadership is great -and if Mr. Jenson will listen to and use all the intelligent advice he can get - including Mr. Greers - and put toflood control organgether ization and program then sell it toe party may have a chance The relations of toe three commis- -. ... .... .... .... , ; SHERIFF-POLICE.- .. A MEETING GROUND ?j DEMOS CANT UNDO WHATS BEEN DONEj ative its ite nod. Their only problem remaining... enough support within toe party to help win the election. And toe party rebels have recently Last week in this column I spoken. mentioned a mysterious card found at the EXTRA SPACE IN OUR TAJ MAHAL in an area that is the exclusive prerogof the County Sheriff. toe new Already .....as chief deputy sheriff has revealed a determined resistance to any kind of consolidation. Even cooperation in some areas appears to have been at arms length. The sheriffs resistance is not apt to melt if Mr. Creer protests too much. continues to presume to speak for a Was Shakespeare, in his observation that Methinks he protests too much, jealous sheriff.. ...without toe sheriffs authority. referring to intensity? or to frequency ' like every day for two weeks? Juddy is not noted for letting someone for else him. weHl Sense of speak values! Oh, (Shrug!) The fact that Jim Barker now has LSJLSJL directed his interest toward toe stabilized (for the time) sieriff s office may be of little avail. Juddy Nielsen has spent the past year trying to construct a power implement big enough that no one would dare suggest that Salt Lake City had something better. -- He has quite a way, yet, to go. , f T! Well wager that our new sheriff balks A , So., . . .how .corn a he knows (jo.weU howilitS for cne( time betore making any su- blike down there? I tahttof 'progress' towarrfJintheffott to8 In a Cottonwood Creek pipeline hearing valley law enforcement service, toe other day, for example, one side started to tell about something that had been said in a county commission gathA note to Salt Lake City Judges: Please ering. dont be too upset if our city prosecuYou cant say that (here), said Judge tors support their sides of cases with Ellett. They say all kinds of things nothing but opinions. In toe County Commission. They no longer have access to the law. Whoever it was that drew up plans for prosecution and court facilities at toe Hall of Justice obviously never heard of l&w books. Theres not a shelf in the entire Trat-f- ic usecutionJudicial ChamCourt-- ? bers section of old Taj Mahali .... Bill Larson often estimated as toe adroit politician he is.' Right now. he seems to be aware that, toe commissioners any publicity isu bad publicity and hes staying out of the limelight. Mr. Larson is definitely going for the four year post. Incumbents have the convention chance going tor them. A lot of thawing out time, is left til May, and by then there may be other serious contenders for these ' jobs, riding on the crest of a Weve been scuttled wave now developing party rebels. Right now though, Id peg toe odds at about 8 to 5 that Creer and Larsen will get toe convention . 2JUUJL Some people knocked Davy Jones daily for two whole weeks for something someone else had done and that was toe best someone could find to do. when Davy suggested (not de But manded) an apology was due for unwarranted suspicions publicly expressed by then, people who had put foots in it those some people said that Davy him. In the TV westerns the real kick is to watch toe barroom brawL then see whos left standing up. In this melee its Jims objectives are sound and seem to have general public support but: Hes running into a hornets nest of jealousy, power construction and unauthorized negotiations. Jims in a position to negotiate for the police department in any consolidation effort... .and his conclusions can be referred to City Commission for approval or rejection. 0 toe other hand. County Commissioner Creer has assumed toe initiative 1 .... I1 Report ico .... ed City Commissioner Jim Barker is determined, somehow or other, to bring about a realization of some kind of joint or contract arrangement between city police and sheriffs as contemplated in toe $5,000 Public Administration Service First chance you get, have someone .... .... .... We cant help but feel that Salt Lake toe people, that is City and. County will come out on toe short end of the sensitive situation that has been developing in toe shadows of our unjustified high .... .... ,. By J im Baldwin sioners wltn me press is fascinating. Bill Larson has recently shied away from the press probably to his advantage. Marv Jenson reacts emotionally. The Deseret News was editorially unkind when the other two commissioners pushed John Creer into a jobless corner. Thus most good stories coming out of Mr. Jensons office go to toe Tribune. The situation could . . .. and probably reverse Itself at any time. will Reporters from toe Review and toe Deseret News are treated cordially by toe commission chairman, and are welcome in his office at any time. Yet recently when Ray Greenwood was named flood control director, even toe commissioners secretary found out about it in toe Tribune. Mr. Creer is toe only commissioner who consciously attempts to use toe press as a political instrument sometimes effectively. The importance of toe press and TV to Mr. Creer is suggested by his appointment of a media man as his administrative assistant. Last month when Governor Rampton called toe three commissioners to breakfast he told them to clean up toe Davy Jones matter by 4 p.m. That deadline was supposed to have been between toe Governor and toe commissioners. Mr. Creer publicly announced it, and garnered a headline or two. It is certain that Mr. Creer was genuinely shocked and upset by toe circumstances in toe auditor's office. The night before he had written his Dear Davy letter to Mr. Jones .. . . and made certain it was well publicised. By doing so. he undoubtedly enhanced his public image -but bybringingthe matter into increased public scrutiny may not have helped himself with loyal Democrat. Such are the risks of political life. What of the future? Marv Jensons stated intentions are to get out of poliwho His present view tics. needs it? And of John Preston Creer an intelligent young man with some considerable potential, now undergoing careful scrutiny by toe party, and undergoing as well a frustrating political trial by fire. Will he emerge as a significant political force in Utahs Democratic political scene? The next nine months may well tell toe tale. by Norman Rosenblatt Last week in a joint meeting concerning methods of sharing cost for prisoners in the new jail an idea was proposed. It wasnt new, and it was a byproduct of the main topic of the meeting. But considering the source and considering the immediate potential and necessity of the idea it has real merit. Mayor Lee suggested that city police and sheriffs department consolidate their records procedures. He again put out bait that an ambitious sheriff should find the county should run the records it hard to resist department and the city should contract this function out to the county. , Mr. Barker liked the idea . . . . and he could speak for the police department. But . . as it has been for the past six months when there was someone suggests this needed economy no one there to speak for the sheriff. Since the two departments were urged last spring to begin plans for records function consolidation, the sheriffs department has been racing in the opposite direction. Sheriff Nielsen began setting up a records department with procedures in no way related to the city police records procedure. Sheriff Nielsen, as chief deputy, imposed a dogma of separateness. He argued that "we arent big enough for automation." that the records He ignored the obvious truth two function of the departments combined are plenty big and city police are automated. enough for automation By insisting on separateness, Juddy Nielsen insists on curbing the effectiveness of records procedures for both city-cou- DOUBLE TAKE POW! OOF! ZOINK! BAM! DEMO PARTY HARMONY - THE MORNING AFTER The four of them, huddled together, crowded through the front door and -still huddled, protective of one another -moved to toe information desk. The man talked. The two small children, a boy and a birl, shouldered The woman against toe mans legs. communicated silently with them by putting her hands on their shoulders, applying subtle pressures. They broke away from toe information desk and formed into single file. The man at toe front visibly preened himself and set toe example for the others. The man. toe boy. toe girl, then toe woman, preened and neatly, groomed, marched up toe stairs like a row of black swans. Minutes later, confident and determined, they sat in a row of four chairs, their backs to toe wall (and they were used to having their backs to toe wall) face to face with an executive in his second story office. the man complained, The cops, wouldnt let his wife work. They kept They said she getting in toe way. couldnt work out that way (West 2nd South) anymore or theyd take her in. How they gonna feed toe kids? Buy them nice clothes like they wearin now (Sunday school clothes with white collars)? Hew they gonna pay toe rent over in toe ghetto? Hes a procurer. Shes a prostitute! The kids look like they been eatin real as he watches nis childrens clothes become threadbare and their bodies shred their healthy chocolate lustre. -- good. toe law, says the execuHe knows. Hes got the tive cop. code there at the end of his nose and he cant see an inch beyond. Up to' now, theres been pride in this black family. Up to now theres that comes been a sense of in from toe knowledge of a family. You cant do it anymore, the executive cop says. Its against toe law. I Hew do I support my family? cant get no other job. Hew do I toe father wants to feed my kids? Its against self-resp- ect self-supp- ort know. Thats your problem, says toe cop, - and he Isnt goto to make it any easier ' to solve. The man rises and almost (not quite shuffles as "he leaves toe office. The children and the wife, a bit unpreened now, somewhat ruffled black sw?usa bit disconsolate, follow toe man.toe head By the time hes reached of the stairs, his eyes reflect his feelings. Feelings of aroused entrapment hatreds recollections of hunger and a even in toe Negro iminus-statu- s, Feelings which have remained dormant, barely below the surface, will rise to toe surface and remain there com-miml- ty. In a few moments, they have vanished from the building. And, while toe cop executive relates his experience with toe vice control unit, toe Negro family vanishes into toe ghetto on the very fringe of which our police station and our City -- County Building stand. I recalled this incident recently during an interview with a preacher. The preacher is a handsome man among Widely traveled, nationally Negroes. and abroad; well read, intelligent! among toe new breed of preachers seeking new frontiers for toe socially oppressed. Its festering. Right. here. Right in toe shadows of temples and cathedrals, the preacher declared. Approximately 2, 0W) Negroes in Salt Lake City, but the preacher observed not a Negro on the Police Department. Not a Negro in toe Sheriffs Department - not even as a clerk. Two Negroes in toe County Auditors office. None elsewhere in city or county government, . except as laborers. Negroes barely represented in some professions, not represented at all in most. One Negro school teacher that anyone knows about in toe city." They call it segregation. In one part of town, the preacher observes, whites knife whites; whites Toll other whites who are drunk. Whites beat up whites in taverns, and cops show up to Investigate. In another part of town, on west 2nd South, cops, in uniform, with shiny black helmets, with extra length night sticks, parade up and down and hold sack on toe Negroes. Theres goin to be trouble down there, said toe preacher. They like us, they appreciate what weve done down there, said the police chief. They appreciate it alright, with a growing bitterness and a growing hatred. Meanwhile, off to the southeast, in toe shadow of the City and County Building clock towr, according to toe preacher: , Its festering down there. Were disappointed, the preacher said. We re disappointed in Gov. Calvin L. Rampton. He talks a lot; but he doesnt do anything. Its festering down there -- likeaboil. its Someday going to burst. Or, we could lance it; clean it out. If w? dont itll burst and itll be a mess. Even Chief Kuudson knows, when Brack Lee says there cant be a Watts here, that there can be; there very well might be. And hes scared . . . . J .m Baldwin mu heres one of Speaking of opinions my own: Things must be in one heckuva-me- ss in toe State Attorney Generals office. Imagine $835 per month to coordinate toe efforts of Phil Hansen's lawyers. Thats what Phils new administrative assistant is getting. t iings must really be messed up in toe legal end of our state government. Juddy Nielsen is only getting $10,000 per annum for toe mess he has to clean up in Salt Lake County. The new admin assistant gets $20 per year more. It is quite a challenge for Don Beck, After a11, veteran newspaper man. judges have been trying for generations to coordinate toe efforts of only two lawyers at a time. Den is sposed to coordinate a whole potful of them. Some folks with suspicious minds, of course, are spoiling things with implications that Phil has hired Don as a 'public relations expert to do a plastic surgery job on Phils public image. JUUUUL We heard about a big top secret Democratic executive committee meeting that was held somewhere Tuesday night. Even the Democrats cant find out what it was about. It came about, though, in the wake of faction to get efforts of the sore-los- er a recount on the vote that helped put Juddy Nielsen in the saddle in the sher- iffs office. Lotsa folks cant seem to understand that quibbling over the vote count can make Democrats look more like sore losers, but it cant change the action of toe County Commission in toe selection of Juddy. Theres the complaint that one Central Committeeman was in California when his ballot was cast In the Hayward-- N ielsen selection. Theres talk that as many as 45 votes were out of line. No one goes so far to make the claim that J uddys entire 275 votes were invalid but if they were, toe results cant be altered now. The balloting was not a legal matter. The recommendation undertaken by toe Central Committee was not binding upon, the County Commission. The Commission asked for a recommendation. They got one. They got it in writing and took official notice of it. They filed it That was toe end of that. Thai, they named Juddy Nielsen sheriff in another action. They cant undo it no matter how hard they try. Juddy can be moved from office for malfeasance of duty. He can be removed by ballot in November (if he gets through the June con vention). Its that simple. |