Williston, ND Active Issues

Right there with ya on that, Ryan.   Keep on talking peeps!!

Couldn't give you dates if I wanted to.  I could give you names but not on a public forum.  I have heard accounts from quite a number of people including my dad who knew quite a few of the "higher ups" on the force many, many years ago.  There are people who are reading this that know exactly when and who I speak of.

Of course, this is only what I've heard.

By the way...I'm trying to figure out what this has to do with our roads.

There are days when I wish I was an officer.  But then there are days I wish I was an MMA fighter too.  And then most days I wish I was a professional football player.  Oh...and some days I think I could be a computer geek...but we all know that's a pipe dream.

There was a time in Williston when our Police Department was very corrupt. 

You got angry? When? Where? 

Hey Todd!  Welcome to the message board.  I know it's been slow the past couple months but every now and then we get some very good discussions going.

First, I know this seams a bit petty, but could you use the normal font when you post?  People like my parents have a hard time reading the smaller print and don't know how to increase text size on the screen.

Second...did you mean to post twice?  Should I delete your last post considering it's the same content as the first? 

Third, I have the utmost respect for those in our local PD.  Limited resources for sure.  Do I wish they could nail every punk kid that drives by my house at 40 miles an hour every day after school?  Absolutely!  Is this realistic...not currently.  So until one of Williston's finest does something to piss me off...I say keep up the great (all things considered) work!! 

First of all, shame on those of you who are so quick to judge without taking the time to think.

The cop wage does not compete with the oilfield wage, just like almost ANY other job in this area.  Regardless of how you feel about the law enforcement in this town, things would be a LOT worse without them. I believe the men and women we have are doing the best with the resources they have. I also believe that most that go into that line of work aren’t doing it for the paycheck…so to imply that they are sitting around doing nothing until they get a pay increase seems a little absurd.

For reasons out of the officers control there are only so many of them to go around, and if they are all writing parking tickets all the time, who does that leave to respond to assaults and thefts and disorderly conducts? Are you willing to go after possibly intoxicated, possibly armed, possibly violent, and always unpredictable suspects while our law enforcement are writing parking tickets and picking up garbage?

In whatever profession you have chosen, I’m sure there are rules, regulations, and codes to follow. I’m sure that some of them frustrate you and there are things that happen on daily basis that cause you stress. I’m sure there are times you think “they don’t pay me enough to do this” I’m also sure that most of the time, you do the best you can. And I bet it rubs you the wrong way when people don’t respect the work you do.

Police officers have chosen a line of work where on a daily basis they could be put in harms way. On a daily basis they could see things that I get sick just thinking about. I doubt real life crime scenes are as easy to stomach as the ones on CSI. They talk to women and children who have been beaten. I’m willing to bet every single one of the officers have a wife, or a husband, or children, or parents that could be left behind.

And they do all this to serve our community. Most of them applied for the job knowing full well the paycheck probably wasn’t going to match the risks they take. Not to mention a lot of the law enforcement in the area are locals! I think we should show some respect for the people who chose to stick around and watch our backs.

As Gloria said, estimates put police calls in Williston increasing by 250-300% in the last year. Think about that for a second. Do you think the police squad grew that much in the same time?

Maybe before we are so quick to judge the performance of our officers, we should put ourselves in their shoes. What’s that old saying? "People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones."

And just in case, for all of you that feel you aren’t in a glass house, I suggest you put down your stones and follow some of the links I listed below. Sounds like our community could really use your expertise.

http://www.lrsc.edu/upload/resources/448/po-academy-application.pdf

http://www.cityofwilliston.com/DepartmentDocuments.aspx?DeptID=WND.CW.PL

A great majority of these arguments on this post are so completely absurd and ridiculous, I can only assume the writers were joking. Law enforcement employed by the city of Williston for the task of garbage gatherers?

Our law enforcement officers, city and county wide, are doing an exceptional job with the influx in population, which has brought about an increase in crime, traffic, accidents, and countless other issues. I find it offensive to even suggest that they aren’t doing their jobs. One person alleged, “police officers need to be paid well, but they have gone up in the pay considerably in the past few years. They have a job to do, so do it.” I ask you, from what are you basing this “sufficient” pay scale increase upon? It clearly was not a consideration of the fact-based statistics that the WPD’s calls have increased by a staggering 300%. It goes without saying that these men and women deserve steady pay increases, this topic should not even be an issue.

Another individual made a claim of police not responding to a domestic disturbance. I’m sorry, but this simply would not happen. Put the focus where it should be. Not on the members of law enforcement who every day try to make Williston a safer place.

We as a community, I believe, have one common goal, which is to make Williston a safe and prosperous community. So why not be supportive of those who are risking their lives every single day, to save yours.

In this case, ignorance is not bliss.

What I would like to see the police/sheriff's department do is their job. They should not be pickup up trash, they should actually do their job when they are called, or see someone doing something illegal. I called the police department when I watched a cop just watch a hotshot driver almost hit me because he decided that even though his light was red and the 2 cars infront of me went, it was his turn. The cop did nothing. When I called the police department, they said, ya, they cant control it. They do not respond when you call them about disturbances, becuase they dont want to get in the middle of it or have one of their officer's get hurt. But what about when these people hurt someone else?! I agree that they should get raises, but only if they deserve it and are doing their jobs. Some just sit in their cars and watch people run traffic lights, or fights, and they do nothing.

May be we should hire an officer to clean up the ditches too. I agree more than anyone on this forum that police officers need to be paid well, but they have gone up in the pay considerably in the past few years. They have a job to do, so do it.

A Police Officer's role is to enforce parking along with taking calls. The city doesn't need to employ a person specifically for that role. To be honest they already do, it's the dog catcher.

Williston has a serious problem with parking on the streets. The police in this town need to do a better job of enforcing the parking.

Clarke wrote:

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Just too much moisture in the ground I think....mushy ground under asphalt isnt good....it wont be long and you wont be able to get to my house in a car....its a challenge today.

I wish the city would do something about all the trailers parked on residential streets...hotshot trailers, backhoe trailers, etc.  They are everywhere.  Not a lot they can do I suppose.....

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 I believe the police department is hiring a new officer whose primary job is to enforce things like that.  I look forward to that officer getting on the payroll.

Streets and Parking lots are all bad...Just waiting for the sink holes to show up.