Yes for Public Safety

On your Primary Election ballot, vote Yes for Proposition 11. This is not just another tax increase.  It requires the funding to be spent on public safety and criminal justice, the primary obligations of government. It finally delivers the essential body cams for Sheriff’s Deputies.

If you think we can’t afford even this small tax increase, we hear you, but consider the gravity of our crime crisis. Have you seen blatant, rampant crime up close in your neighborhood?  So many of us have, and it’s disgraceful and dangerous. We must act.

We citizens need to take a serious leadership role in making changes. We can’t expect law enforcement to argue their own case, especially with what they have on their shoulders. They need support, and soon. The longer we allow lawless elements to take control, the more difficult it will be to turn things around.

The property crime situation is multi-faceted and requires a multi-faceted but coordinated effort. We need to work to fix the ten or more destructive laws passed in in 2020 that have critically weakened law enforcement in the name of criminal justice reform. We’re working on that.

The Council and Sheriff are stymied and, we believe, not communicating sufficiently about the crime crisis. So, as you will see in your Voters’ Pamphlet, we activists with Clark County Public Safety Alliance, supporting Prop 11, will be strongly encouraging law enforcement and the Council to move in the right direction together.

Law enforcement experts tell us today’s biggest challenge is recruiting. Prop 11 will help indirectly by showing that the public supports law enforcement. A No vote tells law enforcement the opposite – that we don’t care enough to stand with them.

Finally, we need a functional jail with more effective approaches to those with mental conditions and drug addictions. This funding can begin that process.

Why does Prop 11 not have an end date? For one reason, body cameras, needed to restore functionality and trust to law enforcement, are not just a one-time capital expenditure. The greater and more sustained cost is maintenance, testing, and training. And restoration of Sheriff staffing, currently at crisis low levels, is an ongoing challenge.

This proposition is our chance to begin restoring the safety of our streets, homes, and places of business. But we must vote Yes on Prop 11.