Guest MINDSETTER™ Michael Long: Taveras’ Blatant Failures in Public Safety
Thursday, October 09, 2014
In a disparaging tirade fueled by an embarrassing gubernatorial primary loss and an inconsistent working relationship with the rank and file of his police department, Providence Mayor Angel Taveras’ displayed how weak of a leader he truly is in a Providence Journal Op-Ed, published on Tuesday, October 7. While maintaining political party allegiance and supporting his friend, Mayor Taveras showed his distaste for the men and women of the Providence Police Department, whom he neglected over the course of his tenure as the Mayor of Providence. No one should be surprised that the union of the Providence Police Department did not side with the Mayor’s candidate for mayor, simply for the fear of receiving 4 more long years of neglect. Angel Taveras has stood by as the severity of crimes in the capital city has increased, and the number of police officers has dwindled to their lowest numbers in years.
While attempting to pat himself on the back in what may be his last published media piece before he disappears from the public eye, Mayor Taveras credits himself with changing the organizational culture within the police department. In truth, the only thing that he has been able to change within the police department is the dangerousness of an already tumultuous profession. He is quick to point out that the department will soon be graduating the most diverse academy class in the departments history, yet he neglects to mention that these brave new officers are the first to be hired since he took office in 2010. Serving the city that they have sworn to protect, the brave officers of the Providence Police Department risk their lives without adequate staffing levels on a daily basis. Neighborhood beats go unfilled, and calls made by officers for back-up take an extremely long and unsafe amount of time, solely due to a lack of commitment by Mayor Taveras.
Along with refusing to hire more officers, all the while putting the lives of residents, business owners, and city servants at risk, Mayor Taveras has not purchased the bare minimum amount of equipment needed to effectively patrol and police the City of Providence. He wants you to think that the long-overdue delivery of the new vehicles the department is about to receive is completed on a regular, annual schedule, but this is hardly the case. The current, heavily-worn police vehicles barely work, their suspensions frequently failing as they travel at high speeds across Taveras’ pot-hole ridden streets as the officers answer their calls for service. The members of the Providence Police have been driving the same vehicles for the four long years Taveras has held office. Living up to their motto of being “always watchful”, the valiant few of the Providence Police Department continue to fulfill their duties, having seized the highest amount of firearms in 15 years in 2013, and just this past summer, they seized 12 firearms in just 7 days.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTBut Taveras would have you think that his failed leadership has made the city a safer place to live and do business, stating that the city has seen a 20 percent reduction in violent crime. He must have forgotten about the stabbings and shootings that occurred in just 19 short hours a little over a week ago, the wild drive-by shooting and ensuing car chase that occurred early on a Tuesday morning, and the continuance of violent incidents on Federal Hill. The funny thing about statistics is that they do not show the psychological effects violent crimes have on those who inhabit dense areas. I’d like the mayor to ask how safe the residents of these areas feel after these violent crimes, and how likely potential business owners and entrepreneurs are to establish their businesses here in Providence after these less-than-comforting headlines make their way into the media week after week.
In support of mayoral candidate Jorge Elorza, Mayor Taveras displayed the reasons why he was not entrusted with the opportunity to hold the highest office of our state. He is incapable of ensuring the safety of our states capital city, and to think he could do any better with control of our state is laughable. Elorza’s welcoming acceptance of the support of Mayor Taveras would lead a reasonable person to believe that the police department would be equally neglected if he (Elorza) would get elected. Clearly, the police union, F.O.P. Lodge #3, are tired and battered by a negligent mayor, and they have chosen to support a candidate that they believe will treat them better than Taveras, and his equally inadequate predecessor, David Cicilline, whom Taveras has refused to blame for the dismal financial abilities the city has.
Providence is currently in a dismal state of violence and disrepair, yet Chief Clements and the men and women of the Providence Police Department work tirelessly. With the few resources the city leadership has afforded them over the past decade, they complete a job that a very small percentage of people could do, day-in-and-day-out. I applaud their dedication to duty, all the while working under unnecessarily dangerous conditions. I hope that after the General Election, they have leadership that they can trust, and proudly work for, in the service of their city.
Michael Long is a decorated police officer with the Cranston Police Department, and an Army combat Veteran who is seeking election as Providence City Councilman in Ward 1. He holds a Masters of Science in Criminal Justice from Northeastern University in Boston, MA, and also teaches Terrorism and National Security at the New England Institute of Technology.
Related Slideshow: 5 Ways Taveras Could Have Grown Jobs in Providence
During Angel Taveras' tenure as Mayor of Providence, the unemployment rate ballooned. According, to US Department of Labor statistics, Providence hit a 12.5% unemployment level in the spring on 2014.
Hispanic unemployment is among the worst in the United States. GoLocal looked at tangible, revenue neutral ways Taveras' Administration could have grown jobs.
