When you need one

While strolling through my Sacramento neighborhood, I often hear, then see, cars zooming by at high speeds and, many times, they simply ignore stop signs. This of course makes one look both ways before crossing the street. I dread the day I know is coming when a child will have a close call, or even worse, along one of these Land Park streets.

I know why this law-breaking occurs. I’ve done it myself. People get in a hurry to get somewhere, or it’s their form of fun. But, more important, they do it because the likelihood of getting caught for driving fast has become minimal. How many times recently have you seen Sacramento police pulling people over for traffic stops?

The cops that are on the street aren’t actively looking for these kinds of infractions. If you get caught you’re unlucky, because the police you do see are going from one call for help to another. They are zooming, too—from burglary to traffic accident to family fight. And due to the recent flight of officers from the Sacramento department, there may not be enough during some shifts to cover the more serious crimes (see “Who let the watchdog out?” by Amy Yannello, page 16).

The police on the street are staging a campaign to get more cops in cars. It may be a case of not hiring more, just better utilizing the ones that are on the payroll.

Be careful out there.