http://www.policeone.com/pc_print.asp?vid=131830

05/01/2006

Calif. cops battle crime jump
 
Copyright 2006 Times – Standard
 
By JESSIE FAULKNER
The Times-Standard

BLUE LAKE, Calif. — A staff of two cops facing oodles of night-loving criminals is making the battle of good vs. evil a little more difficult here.

Police Chief Dave Gundersen told the City Council Tuesday that the department’s officers have also had the added insult of encountering several criminals or would-be criminals who aren’t willingly taken into custody.

“People are getting nastier and they’re challenging officers to fight,” Gundersen said.

….{snip}….

The increasing frequency of the red-handed suspects challenging officers is a little dicey. Gundersen said such resistance not only comes during the process of an arrest, but reflects a general contempt for cops.

“The biggest thing we have going for us is a command presence,” he said.

….{snip}….

The police chief is quick to point out that Blue Lake is full of really nice people and that the vast majority of these encounters are with folks from other areas. He said one of his current projects is to determine the origins of these ne’er do wells — something he plans to share with the council in the future.

….{snip}….

Because the Blue Lake Casino is in the unincorporated portion of the county, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office. The Rancheria has contributed more than $120,000 to the sheriff. The funds, Ganion said, go toward keeping the sheriff’s McKinleyville substation open.

The annual allotment of $3,000 to the city of Blue Lake hasn’t changed since the Casino’s opening, although representatives have met intermittently and are expected to gather in about two weeks, Buck said. It’s likely some sort of adjustment may be discussed.

….{snip}….
Then, Gundersen said, there’s the issue of the cost of background checks — sometimes for naught. While police academies do a good job of training new officers, that training doesn’t mean the candidates will pass background checks. Blue Lake’s Police Department does its own background checks on prospective officers — a process that costs between $2,000 and $2,500 per applicant and possibly more depending upon Blue Lake’s distance from the applicant’s former residences. When a candidate fails to pass, the department is at least $2,000 poorer and still without a candidate.