by Matt Marquardt –
MASON CITY – At last night’s Mason City Council meeting, Police Chief Michael Lashbrook took time to explain to the public how his department is battling crime in the city at this time.
He said his department is employing a number of programs to keep things under control.
Lashbrook (pictured) said that traffic enforcement is “one of the most proactive functions a police department can perform” despite the public feeling otherwise, or feeling that officers may have “better things to do.” Lashbrook says that traffic stops help detect and deter crime and are a source of intelligence gathering.
“We are looking for the person on the block,” Chief Lashbrook said. “Community involvement… they are the eyes and ears,” he said, as the department continues to rely on the public for information and tips on crimes that are committed.
The MCPD has participated in programs like SALT (seniors and law enforcement together), a collaborative effort between various entities and law enforcement agencies, which works to prevent and solve crimes.
Lashbrook also said that there is no way to predict in the city when or where violent crime will take place.
Lashbrook’s presentation comes in the wake of several murders within the last year or so in the city as well as other criminal activity and lawlessness that the public has taken notice of. Vandalism has continued to plague the city, and widespread chaos spread through last month’s band festival carnival. Scores of youth were brought in for questioning and banned from the park after a series of brawls erupted that weekend in East Park. Many folks said they would no longer attend after witnessing this, and MCPD had to call in backup from around the area as youth became aggressive and advanced on the officers.
The chief said that anyone who wants to start a neighborhood watch program is free to contact the Mason City Police Department for information. That number is 641-421-3636.
On a related note, Mayor Eric Bookmeyer reminded the public to volunteer for the park watch program, which is down in numbers. This program has been instrumental in keeping some vandalism out of the parks.
Watch video:
Peter, since my High School days, when I was required to take Social Studies and Sociology,
I learned the relationships between our laws and an orderly society, and the requirements of citizenship. Those classes 40 years ago, began a process of observations of how things worked, and why.
I see the same things playing out today in real life, not theory. In many of the contacts I have had with our police, they have met or exceeded my expectations. They act just as professionally as members of Chicago PD, IL State Police, IN State Police, numerous local departments in Philadelphia, Chicago, Wisconsin, IN, and Montreal, the FBI, and individual Railroad Special Agents I have had personal contact with.
I do not presume for one moment every member of a police department is perfect. I give you one example, Jon Berge of CPD. He was a creep when I met him in the late 80’s, and the courts have reached that same conclusion. And because of the make up of human kind, he is not the only one out there.
When I make comments about our police, or any police, as I have explained on these pages in the past, I take the department as a whole. If you choose to measure a whole organization on it’s worst single part, then it is you with the unreasonable and unrealistic mind. You probably have no real experience with large departments. And even if by chance you have, your paradigm of life prohibits you from seeing reality. You hold disdain for people who hold authority over you. Sorry old sock, but in the society we have in this country, that kind of thinking is unrealistic, and honestly, unhealthy.
Let me get this straight. We cannot seem to staff the police dept well and are short on officers but we can hire a Blue Zone Coordinator? What is that about? What exactly, and skip the generalities we keep hearing about–what exactly are we going to get out of the Blue Zone Program as long as we are investing staff and taxpayer dollars into it? The downtown area has really gone downhill in the last 2 years–people are not aware of all the vandalism and crime there. The whole city needs more police presence. We need our dollars invested into hiring more police officers and making sure they have the backup they need if we expect them to police well especially with the caliber of criminals we seem to have here. Would you like to go up against some of these people without adequate backup? Mason City let’s get our priorities in order.
Hahaha, I see police staked out in the morning hours, trying to catch people going to work because they know its an easy target , because most people tend to speed on their way to work, or they watch for under age drinking parties. So here is my question. Why can’t they focus their attention to higher crimes, and set outside or drive around Alley Katz on weekends? 9 out of 10 times they are bound to find- felony gun possession, drug possession, disorderly conduct arrests, public intox, arrest warrant criminals an maybe prevent a murder or serious assault or rape. These type of arrests are more beneficial to our community than- seatbelt violations, speeding tickets, or headlight an tail light violations. Sure a crime is a crime but lets start where we know the worst violations an crime is.