ISP chief says cuts will reduce patrols
24-hour coverage hinders illegal trafficking, he says
BOISE – Budget cuts at the Idaho State Police are hitting hard, the agency’s chief warned legislative budget writers Tuesday.
“We are now well beyond trimming fat, and we are cutting into the agency’s bone and muscle,” Col. Jerry Russell said.
Among the ISP’s successes in the past year, he said, was a 97 percent increase in contacts with drivers between 2 and 6 a.m.
“With the reduction of funding, it’s likely that those 24-hour patrols will be diminished, in some cases ceased altogether,” Russell said.
Russell said the patrols would not be reduced. But, he said, “We have an obligation to be out there as much as we can, and some of that will be 24-hour coverage, whenever we can do that,” he said. “The motoring public deserves it.”
He said ISP must provide at least some 24-hour patrols to keep criminals who are running drugs or transporting stolen property from operating with impunity during those hours.
Beyond the crunch on patrol hours, cutbacks in purchasing and supplies are pushing some equipment beyond its recommended life span, Russell said. “We have a significant fleet – we need to keep it operational.”
Gov. Butch Otter’s recommended budget for ISP next year calls for an 8.2 percent cut in state general funds, and a 5.1 percent cut overall. However, it’s one of the few areas where the governor is calling for adding staff, with a proposal for three new positions in forensics.
He’s also recommending most, though not all, of the requested funding to move the department into its new regional office in Coeur d’Alene, which is expected to be completed in late June; $300,000 for conducting background checks for people with access to vulnerable adults or children in long-term care; and $25,000 to continue a special gang enforcement project with the U.S. attorney’s office.
Otter also wants to start a five-year funding shift to cut off highway money that now goes to ISP and replace it with state general tax funds. That would free up more money for highways, while also freeing ISP from the impacts when gas tax funds fluctuate. Next year’s shift would be $3.2 million, but only if the governor’s transportation package, which includes gas tax increases, goes through.