Police-plank-Havens

==FOP President Michael Havens Jr. ==
Haves has a take on both Mr. McNeilly's record and what the O'Connor administration should do. Perhaps his list should be obtained directly from Havens, rather than via the media. 
* staff shortages, 
* low morale, 
* declining response times, 
* inadequate staff to deal with quality-of-life crimes 
: like vandalism that can begin the decline of a neighborhood
* a history of excessive discipline for minor infractions
== As of January, 2006==
"Morale is at rock bottom," Mr. Havens said. "We're not saying people don't need to be disciplined. We're saying people need to be disciplined using common sense."
Although Mr. McNeilly was seen by many in the bureau as a rigid disciplinarian, his methods were regarded by supporters as necessary to enforce the consent decree and to weed out problem officers.
"It takes that kind of chief to keep the street-level officers abiding by the rules," Mr. Walczak said. "The new chief needs to be somebody who is going to maintain control and is not afraid to upset the union. This is not about being anti-union or anti-cop but making sure those officers who don't follow the rules are corrected."
Mr. Havens said he did not fear that Mr. McNeilly's departure would lead to backsliding in keeping the department on the straight and narrow.
"It's not like any of these programs are going away," Mr. Havens said. "If all of a sudden a new mayor and new chief come in and scrap all of this, more than likely the Justice Department is going to come in and knock on their door and say 'Hey, what are you doing?' "
category:Planks_from_elsewhere