Security of SLT cops, vehicles a concern
By Kathryn Reed
Nothing separates the South Lake Tahoe Police Department fleet from the public. No fence. Only a sign telling people they can’t park in that area.
Earlier this summer when the City Council was discussing capital improvement projects, No. 18 on the list was a perimeter security fence for the department. But it was never brought up for discussion at the meeting.
On the Aug. 5 council agenda is the five-year capital investment plan. It’s possible the council will approve it Tuesday. There is no specific mention of the fence.
While Police Chief Brian Uhler does not expect the security fence to be part of the 2014-15 budget, he hopes it will become a reality sooner rather than later.
“It’s on the list of things to be done. It is competing with many other projects,” Uhler told Lake Tahoe News. “It will be an item I will continually press forward.”
South Lake Tahoe police vehicles are not kept in a secure area. Photo/LTN
When he was hired a few years ago he couldn’t believe one did not exist. He said previous chiefs have lobbied for a fence, but it has never risen to the top of the priority list.
“It’s normal and customary for police to have secure parking for employees and the fleet,” Uhler said.
Uhler said known suspects have videotaped officers; this includes filming the officers’ personal vehicles. Officers’ vehicles have also been vandalized.
While there are video cameras in the parking lot, that doesn’t prevent someone from tampering with vehicles or filming officers. The cameras can only help identify the people. But it is not illegal to film officers.
“It would provide an extra layer of security when doing prison transports, drop offs and coming to the jail facility,” Uhler said of the fence.
He proposes a 6-foot fence with a mesh lining to prevent clear visibility of the vehicles. It would have a security gate that would need to handle opening and closing multiples times a day. Plus, if there is power outage, there needs to be a backup to make sure vehicles can get in and out.
While there is no official estimate on the cost, Uhler said the fence and gate are likely to be in the $100,000 to $200,000 range.
Why is a fence that expensive? You can build an entire house for that amount, with wiring, plumbing, etc. . .?
Having, in my youth, seen two police cars blow up directly in front of me, and having been friends with 5 law enforcement officers who were murdered in the line of duty, this plan seem like a bit of a no-brainer.
This has been an issue for decades. By combining public parking with the entire complex it is a security mess and should have been dealt with many years ago. There needs to be a separate public lot.
One would hope for taxpayer cost efficiency a combined lot would be proposed, and costs shared equally with, the County at the same location. And like the $800K bus shelter at the Y, the proposed cost sounds outrageously government-high.
“Uhler said known suspects have videotaped officers; this includes filming the officers’ personal vehicles. Officers’ vehicles have also been vandalized.”
Why do so many people who live in this town still think this is the age of Mayberry? This is a tourist destination and all kinds of people come here and there are a lot of people who vehemently hate government and their employees as evidenced by some of the comments in blogs. Our Police need a secure area, and I guarantee that the cost of constructing a fence and installing legitimate security equipment will be a whole lot less than paying a wrongful death suit for not providing adequate protection for this line of City employee when they’re going on and off duty. I believe we owe this to those individuals who put their lives on the line for us in the conduct of their duties every day and think the City Council Members should be emailed or telephoned to make this a current priority and not a future 5-years down the road and we’ll see if we can get to it thing.
The City has about 30 million dollars worth of Snow Removal Equipment, it sits in the sun 365 day’s a year, the sun is very hard on the equipment, it rots all of the rubber lines and tires and is very hard on the paint. This problem should have been addressed many years ago. Just a shed roof over everything would be of great help.
Do the employees have any responsibility for their chosen profession and workplace? While I agree in principle with their concerns for safety, there are millions of people who have similar security risks in their parking lots every day, and have dangerous jobs. Why should these employees be treated any differently than other employees?
And, of course, the idea that a fence would cost that much is absurd. I remember well when they built that building, it was never a consideration because it used to snow here and fences become very difficult in heavy snow. This would lead to considerable cost and possibly, officers and employees becoming stuck in the parking lot. There is an existing sally port. It is a matter of priorities, I would rather have more patrol officers on the street. How much “extra security” does this little town actually need?
‘Why is a fence that expensive?’
Because the world is not simple.
Deep. Worthlessly non informational, but deep.
How about a new roof over the evidence room. Leaky.
A uninformative response for a commenter that doesn’t seek information on their own. You can’t build high security fences with yokel engineering and 2×4’s. How much do you think an automatic secure gate costs? The world is complicated, your simple minded criticism is not grounded in reality.
“yokel engineering”.
You don’t know the first thing about it, do you? At least some of us actually know how to build a fence. You know, something practical. Funny how some folks consider themselves so far above the little people who earn an honest living in this world. Maybe you should run for office. You’d fit right in.
Elements, i.e. snow, make fences in SLT difficult to maintain. All civic buildings in SLT should have been constructed with underground parking. Hindsight is 20/20. When the council was pondering the “Hole” for all those years maybe they should have considered moving the PD closer to stateline. Or at least given some thought to using some of that Hole space for secured long term parking for City vehicles (plows, vans, etc). Sheds are impractical, there is a reason why you don’t see alot of them in town. There was a Hole sitting there with the right kind of engineers there could have been an entire floor of underground parking for official use only. A floor deep enough to allow even plows to go in and out of. And vans, trolleys, etc. PS it’s not only sun that deteriorates rubber. Alternating weather, heat and cold, can cause that.
“When the council was pondering the “Hole” for all those years maybe they should have considered moving the PD closer to stateline. Or at least given some thought to using some of that Hole space for secured long term parking for City vehicles (plows, vans, etc).”
The Chateau Project site is not now nor has it ever been owned by the City; it’s always been private ownership.
I hope no one steals our new assault vehicle. I can see those dangerous pot heads joyriding in it now.