[kttam186290]

I'm a big cheerleader for Vegas, but this very subject has always perplexed me.

Southern Nevada is a double-edged sword. It's a relatively cheap place to retire to and be a materialist, but that sense of cheapness combined with un-quenched materialism also attracts a seedier element as well.

Building permits were passed out like candy on Halloween by Clark County and the three valley cities in the 1990s and into a good part of the 2000s. Tacky housing construction was thrown up all over the valley with the thought of, "well, in ten years, I'll just move to the next tract over and let this house go to pot..." and that's what happened. Most of the Las Vegas Valley is a large middle area of dilapidated neighborhoods with a few nice neighborhoods around the edges of the valley.

At one time, the Green Valley neighborhood in Henderson was a gorgeous and safe place for a family. Then they built Seven Hills and half of Green Valley's population moved to Seven Hills and left Green Valley to the slumlords. If you still lived in Green Valley, the people in Seven Hills poked fun at you. Consequently, home values in Green Valley plummeted and part of the community is now filled with Section 8 rentals. Same thing happened to large parts of the Aliente community in North Las Vegas as well. And, from what I've heard, is starting in parts of Summerlin South and Spring Valley now too...

Now, in all fairness, a lot of people with the materialist attitude brought it with them to Nevada. But Nevada profited from it and that model worked for awhile, until the bottom fell out from under it in 2007.

Nevadans, as a rule, want to be materialistic, want new and nice things, but then complain when the crime rate outside of their gated HOA neighborhoods starts to skyrocket. But what do you expect when you won't pay a little more for new schools, more police and substations and a better university system to bring in (and retain) better-educated people?

It's something about the Southern Nevada mindset I've never understood?

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by kttam186290

Southern Nevada is a double-edged sword. It's a relatively cheap place to retire to and be a materialist, but that sense of cheapness combined with un-quenched materialism also attracts a seedier element as well.

I don't think you're missing anything. This is my experience as well. But I also condemn Las Vegas as a hopelessly ignorant place. We have exceptional people, sure. But the average resident? Mouth-breathers. I could throw a dart at a world map and hit a place with higher standards.

Everyone knows I have a beef with Las Vegas. The city has great potential. It truly does. But it sells itself short every minute of every day. When people ask me why I don't like living here, I have a stock reply -- "Las Vegas is what happens when you assemble 1.8 million people who only care about low prices."

[MAXIALE02]

[orphaned]
The police officers I've encountered have done nothing but good for me. Even when I got pulled over I felt he was fair. I've had them come to my house because the garage door was left open in the middle of the night. And they also make a presence in my neighborhood which I appreciate.

I don't know your lifestyle but anyone who'd put their life on the line deserves a semblance of respect.

There are bad officers like any other profession but I have enough sense to know [how to act] when confronted by a civil servant. [mod cut- language]

[tijlover]

I get the impression, when it comes to our extra-long sentencing in this country (2-3X higher than in Europe) and our expensive prisons and jails, that the Chinese are freely paying for it all, it costs the taxpayers nothing!

One more cop, X number of additional arrests for drug possession (unnecessary arrests to begin with, IMO), eventually more jail/prison space and guards needed, more traffic fines, the money of which goes to enrich the government and not stimulate our economy!

The last $475 traffic fine I paid: I spoke to the Las Vegas economy: Sorry, business owners, won't be able to stimulate your businesses for awhile!

[Spades45]

[orphaned, but thank you!]

Originally Posted by MAXIALE02

The police officers I've encountered have done nothing but good for me. Even when I got pulled over I felt he was fair. I've had them come to my house because the garage door was left open in the middle of the night. And they also make a presence in my neighborhood which I appreciate.

I don't know your lifestyle but anyone who'd put their life on the line deserves a semblance of respect.

There are bad officers like any other profession but I have enough sense to know [how to act] when confronted by a civil servant. [mod cut- language]

The plural of anecdote is not data and your limited experience with cops in this town is extremely incomprehensive. In fact the real data paints a much different picture. There are douchebags in every group, true. But this argument is dead wrong for multiple reasons.

1. It's not just a few bad apples amongst a sea of good Samaritans. Escalation and overuse of force is not only rampant in LVMPD, it’s systematic.
2. Furthermore, the "good apples" that do not speak up against the problematic officers are just as guilty as their peers. Evil is allowed to hide under the guise that it is only a few "bad eggs" and no progress is made as a direct result of this incorrect way of thinking. Remember that LVMPD essentially chooses its own leadership (with support from their union) and they continually choose bad apples who do everything in their power to minimize accountability within the department.
3. The issue with LVMPD is not restricted to individuals within the group behaving immorally, although this does lead to problems in and of itself. I'm more concerned with the institutionalized disregard for responsibility that exists within the department as a whole. For starters cops that commit crimes are rarely prosecuted in a court of law, but rather investigated in an inquest where they cannot be convicted of perjury and criminal charges are not legally able to be filed. What this means is that even if found at-fault there are not any legal ramifications, simply disciplinary action. There are no attorneys or judges allowed in inquests, just witness testimony by fellow cops, and disciplinary judgments issued by more fellow cops. Until we require 3rd party judgment and allow criminal charges to be filed in more police cases, we will continue to hear the same sad stories.

If you still don't believe that the police here are lazy and don't need more money, I recommend you go hang out on fremont street on a friday night. They could easily be preventing (or pulling over) all the DUIs; instead, they're writing open container tickets because that generates more money.

If LVMPD wants more money, they should stop commanding misconduct lawsuits which cost the taxpayers millions of dollars each year. they are far too busy filming reality tv shows and murdering the poor to get any actual work done, and the fact that they have the gall to demand even more money from us is absolutely sickening.

For what it’s worth one of my closest friends is a retired 20-year veteran of LVMPD. More importantly, we both share the same distaste for our local departments (he lives in Henderson and could tell you a lot more about their problems). As a whole the department is rotten from the top, much like many of Las Vegas’ other, ahem, institutions.

[tijlover]

I've been over at Town Square, early morning hours between 2-4am, walking my ferret, and I've seen as many as 4 police officers over there, even when much of the patrons have gone home for the night. And, in addition to the police, Town Square has their own roving security patrol.

I asked a security guard, over there, one night: Why the need for police with Town Square's own security patrol. All he could say was: Just in case!

And let's not forget all the gated, self-patrolling communities in the Las Vegas Valley, and due to that, we need less police officers, not more!

[kttam186290]

Originally Posted by TVC15

You are so right on about this!



Texans also like their low tax burden. CA is a waste land of tax abuse by politicians and the voters continue to allow themselves to be duped over and over and over.

Low tax burden? Really? ...None of the Texans ever want to talk about their property taxes though

[BBMW]

The real way to answer this question is to look at the statistics.

What is Metro's officer count per capita, and how does it compare to other major cities? How does it compare by land area covered? How does it compare by per capita budget?

What is Metro's workload per officer (arrests, citations, etc.)? How does this compare to other major cities. How has it changed over time?

The answers to these questions will show if metro LV is underpoliced, and if the need to hire (and find a way to pay for) more officers.

[tijlover]

[quote=kttam186290;35970228]Low tax burden? Really? ...None of the Texans ever want to talk about their property taxes though [/QUOTE

Even though I had a very good childhood friend living in Texas (Austin), I chose to move here due to the high property taxes in Texas.

A nurse I worked with lucked out by selling her home here at the RE peak, bought a brand new 2400SF home in San Antonio for $125k, and screamed Yippy-I-Yo-Ky-Ay!

And? $300+ a month in property taxes!

[kttam186290]

Originally Posted by tijlover

Even though I had a very good childhood friend living in Texas (Austin), I chose to move here due to the high property taxes in Texas.

A nurse I worked with lucked out by selling her home here at the RE peak, bought a brand new 2400SF home in San Antonio for $125k, and screamed Yippy-I-Yo-Ky-Ay!

And? $300+ a month in property taxes!

But everyone in Texas thinks they live in Shangri La because there's no income tax, as if not having an income tax means anything?

It just means that the state will find other ways to take it out of you...