Submitted
Dear Editor,
Sheriff Knox has raised an issue that should be of great convern to the residents of Benton County. He pointed out that violent crime has increased in our county of 740 square miles where eight patrol deputies are trying to keep the peace by doing the work of sixteen deputies. The office is half-staffed (reminds me of how our flag is so often flown). He says it is quite difficult to hire and keep qualified deputies partly because their retirement plan is less than promising.
I can relate to this as having spent my working career in public service. Many people are attracted to public service out of a sense of civic duty. They take care of citizens who will in turn take care of them. In my experience I worked with some people who were highly skilled with talents that could have made them fortunes. They traded that prospect for a career that kept the public secure, and in turn gave them a secure job and retirement.
Recently I called upon the Sheriff's office to investigate some non-emergency criminal activities. I was fortunate that the deputies were able to respond. It would have been unfortunate if we get to the point when deputies are unable to solve criminal cases or do any crime prevention activities.
This might invite folks to seek their own justice.
As Sheriff Knox said, we need to take care of one another, and we need to remember that the laborer is worthy of his hire.
Dan Veach
