AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: MAY 2017 7 N otonlyaresmaller agencies closing all over the coun- try, now some of- ficials are calling to disband the Alabama Law Enforce- ment Agency. Rep. Phillip Pettus, R-Greenhill, filed House Bill 425 recently, the aim of which is to undo the creation of the state’s chief law enforcement agency Pettus says one of the rea- sons he wants ALEA gone is an increase in traffic fatalities and a decrease in the num- ber of state troopers. “It’s just too big,” Pettus, a retired state trooper, told Alabama.com. “They’ve got too many chiefs and not enough Indians.” ALEA was created two years ago to house three state law enforcement agen- cies and nine other divisions, including Alabama state troopers. Supporters of the creation of the agency said it would save $260 million over 10 years, but Pettus says that didn’t pan out. There have been no savings and the quality of services provided has de- creased. ALEA Secretary Stan Stabler recently told law- makers that there’s been a 30 percent drop in the number of troopers with the highway patrol and traffic fa- talities have increased by 25 percent since 2009. Stabler fleshed those figures out as he was asking Alabama for a $60 million increase in the agency’s budget for fiscal year 2018. What happened to the savings? “It’s not saving us money if they’re having to ask to increase the budget from $44 million to $104 million,” Pettus said. “And, we have less troopers. They don’t have money for tires and oil changes or bulletproof vests. The trooper’s morale is bad.” Pettus said one of the problems is that the re- duction in the number of troopers means they’re now stretched too thin. “The troopers are so busy they don’t even have time to patrol,” Pettus said. Supporters say ALEA’s formation has improved state response time to major emergencies. “One of the benefits of consolidation is the im- mediate ability to allocate state police resources during disasters and other times of need, which allows ALEA to act more swiftly and effi- ciently to ensure the public’s safety,” an agency statement released to the press read. “It also has resulted in im- proved response times to major events.” Pettus doesn’t buy it. “If a hurricane was to hit or some other natural disaster happened and you sent all of the troopers that were need- ed to address it, there would be no one anywhere else in the state. The problem is we just don’t have enough of them. We have just over 200 patrol troopers, when we are supposed to have about 1,000. Some counties don’t even have a trooper assigned to their area.” Private security booming as LE agencies closing Not just small cop shops on the chopping block anymore GS-07F-0022J Copyright © 2017 Safety Vision, LLC All Rights Reserved. Safety Vision’s ICOP® PRO In-car System provides tamperproof evidence reducing liability and increasing conviction. The ICOP PRO delivers up to 256GB of storage, multiple record modes, and mirror recording to ensure valuable video is never lost. The Power Control Monitor provides officers absolute control of recording, marking critical events, and reviewing video. Equipped with a multi- zoom windshield camera, ultra wide-angle backseat camera, wireless mic with over 1,500 feet in recording distance, makes ICOP PRO the ultimate law enforcement solution. Coming soon in October 2017, the launch of Safety Vision’s new fully integrated and fully loaded body worn camera! Find out more today! 800.849.9621 www.safetyvision.com