When Frederick city homeowners received their property tax bills this past summer, many experienced a bit of sticker shock. Though short of a taxpayer revolt, there has been a demand for action with terms like double taxation and tax equity as being the focal point of many conversations about paying both city and county property taxes.

The current and future political leaders listened and incorporated the issue of city/county property taxes into their campaign rhetoric. But what actions will the citizens of Frederick actually see?

As some began to question what exactly they were paying for and what they were getting in return, I was hearing; why do we have both a city police department and a (County police department) sheriff’s office? (It is surprising how many in our community, mostly newcomers, do not know the sheriff’s office and state police, not a county police department, provide police protection in the unincorporated portions of the county.) Why do we have both a police chief and a sheriff; was a question that punctuated many conversations on the topic.

I am still, six months later, getting the question from city residents asking, why do we have both? Questions are accompanied by comments to the affect that it is just too costly with our community’s current fiscal condition and economic outlook for the foreseeable future.

Of course, their concern is that they are paying for both the city police department and the sheriff’s office and only receiving policing services from one. That may be so for day-to-day policing services, which are critical to community security and tranquility, but the sheriff’s office does serve city residents in other ways.

Though the sheriff’s office does not respond to 911 calls in the city or provide city residents other crime prevention and enforcement services, the sheriff’s office does serve the city in many important areas.

The sheriff’s office runs the county jail, where persons arrested in the city are housed while awaiting trial or serving sentences not calling for incarceration in a state prison facility. The central booking facility, where city arrestees are processed (fingerprinted, photographed, checked for wanted status, etc.), is operated by the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office. Additionally, the sheriff’s office provides security at the county courthouse in downtown Frederick where civil and criminal proceedings are held involving city residents and businesspersons as well as county residents and businesspersons.

Civil process and criminal process service (serving court papers and executing arrest warrants) is carried out by sheriff’s personnel. The sheriff’s office also conducts evictions within the city.

Now that we are a bit clearer about how the sheriff’s office serves city residents, is there an argument for, or against, combining the sheriff’s office and the Frederick Police Department into one agency?

After all, the bad guys don’t operate in only one jurisdiction or the other. Why not have one agency doing the policing in the city and the unincorporated portions of the county? Wouldn’t there be a savings? Wouldn’t it be more efficient? Why should there be two command hierarchies and administrative support structures? Wouldn’t it be better to merge the two agencies?

How much duplication is there and how much could be saved if the two agencies merged? This is an issue that many communities around the country have faced, particularly when searching for a way to ease the burden on the taxpayer during tough economic times.

There are many examples of such mergers in local government, mergers of municipal and county law enforcement services in particular. They include the merger of city and county governments and all government services or just the merger of elements such as law enforcement services.

The city of Savannah and Chattaham County, Georgia; the city of Louisville and Jefferson County, Kentucky; and, the city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, North Carolina are a few examples where city/county consolidation of law enforcement has taken place.

In part two, I will address the issue of merging the two organizations, the city police department and the sheriff’s office into one law enforcement agency serving the unincorporated portions of the county and the city of Frederick .

Is consolidation of police services right for Frederick ? If not, what can be done to improve efficiencies and save taxpayer dollars in the current configuration of our law enforcement providers?

Please let me hear from you at kbickel@starpower.net, and as Sergeant Phil Esterhaus would say, “let’s be careful out there.”

Karl Bickel's column, "Cops, Crime and Community: For the police buff, the curious or concerned," runs bi-weekly.

	About Karl W. Bickel Karl started a career in law enforcement with a major metropolitan police department where he was a police cadet, patrol officer and detective. He has since been a security consultant and private investigator, law enforcement specialist, an assistant professor of criminal justice, a law enforcement consultant, operations chief and second in command of the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office and currently works for a federal agency providing support for state, local and tribal law enforcement. Karl grew up in Montgomery County and has called Monrovia, in Frederick County, his home since 1980. His email address is kbickel@starpower.net.
Post your comments » Residents turn out in support of sheriff, staff after federal lawsuit filed Dozens of residents turned up Thursday at a restaurant to express their support for Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins as he prepares to defend himself and two deputies in a federal lawsuit. Caterer charged with DUI; police deliver lunch Talk about fast food. Fire and police blotter Traffic stop leads to arrests City passes speed camera ordinance Smile, speeders. You'll soon be on camera. Convicted murderer requests new trial A man who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the bludgeoning death of his friend will protest his conviction in a hearing five months from now.