The Editor's Desk

 6 Comments

• Black Bear says:

  February 28, 2008 at 9:27 pm

  Mr. Shackford, I’m going to have to spil your day with some more bad news about your comments. I happen to be one of the many hard working and concerned officers in the Barstow Area and have observed a change in motorist behavior. When I reported to Barstow in 2005 from another office in Orange County, the first thing I noticed in our briefing room, was a dry-erase board with the number of fatalities investigated by the 30+ patrol officers in the Area. The number of fatalities that year was just short of 100. After two years of intense ticket writing, roadside education (verbal warnings) and publicized crackdowns, there have been results. The results are that in 2007, 50 more families that traveled through Barstow were able to see a loved one go on to graduate college, get married, have kids and celebrate every holiday within a calendar year. These are good results.
• Scott Shackford says:

  February 29, 2008 at 9:28 am

  I’m sorry, but that’s what I would classify as “correlation without causation.” How many more tickets did you give? More importantly, did you see a decline in repeat citations (as in, you gave somebody a ticket for speeding, and the driver changed his behavior, thus preventing him from getting future speeding tickets)? How did traffic figures through Barstow change? Did the number of actual crashes go down to the same degree? What evidence do you have that this change in fatalities has anything to do with you at all? All that you’ve shown is that the number of fatalities have gone down. You haven’t shown a correlation.
• Black Bear says:

  March 1, 2008 at 1:03 am

  Mr. Shackford, with respect to your response from February 29th, 2008 (9:28 am), I wasn’t trying to show a correlation, but state an observed fact. The evidence that supports the lower number of fatalities in the Barstow Area not only has something to do with my efforts, but with the combined effort of every CHP officer in the high desert. I believe that our efforts, whether publicized or not, changes behavior and collision numbers. Personally, I invite you to come to a pre-shift briefing and state to each officer that their efforts has no correlation with the reduction in collisions/ fatalities. You might want to hear what they would have to say to you. Everyday, somewhere in the U.S.A., an officer, deputy, trooper or constable, loses his life trying to change errant driving and/ or criminal behavior on our roadways.

  So please, support our efforts to save/ change another persons’ life, reduce injuries, property damage and speeding. The reduction of speeding, errant driving behavior and collision deaths has to start somewhere. That somewhere more than often occurs on a freeway shoulder or roadway curb, during the issuance of a ticket and after an appearance in infraction or misdemeanor traffic court. I can only imagine what the behavior of 25+ million California drivers with 36 million registered vehicles in this state would be if we (LEO’s) did nothing.
• Scott Shackford says:

  March 2, 2008 at 12:01 pm

  “There have been results” is an attempt to show correlation. You are arguing that the CHP efforts have resulted in fewer fatalities. I’m not saying that you’re wrong; I’m pointing out that you haven’t shown the correlation that you’re right. I don’t have enough information, and it appears as though you don’t either.

  I support public safety efforts that are proven to work (assuming these efforts are necessary in the first place and respect civil liberties) and reject those that do not work. Appeals to emotions do not sway me in the least, so vague responses that suggest to me that these measures work because CHP officers feel that they work are not going to get me on your side. And I am never, ever swayed by “somebody has to do something” arguments. If you want me to support your efforts, you have to provide better evidence that they work.

  And I would also point out, my initial criticism was that a publicized crackdown in the middle of the week won’t do much to change driver behavior, knowing full well what travel patterns are for our stretches of the highway. Note that I did not say anything about crackdowns on weekends or on holidays. There’s a reason I kept that criticism limited, so please don’t try to expand my comments to apply to the entire CHPs enforcement system.
• Black Bear says:

  March 4, 2008 at 9:26 pm

  Apparently, your comments aren’t going to sway me either from doing what I’ve been sworn to do. I respect your right to argue your point. But after living and serving overseas for most of my life, I can see why the rest of the world gives us Americans the cold shoulder. We live in a rich country with great democratic principles and want the rest of the world to follow our lead. But at the site of a black and white behind us, we cry fowl (boohoo me) if we get a speeding ticket for 100+ in a 70 mph maximum zone during a PUBLICIZED crackdown. Thanks Mr. Editor, tomorrow morning as I stop to get my cup of coffee at Valero before briefing, I’ll remember to pass up the Desert Dispatch, keep my 50 cents and use it to switch back to the “Orange County Register.” 10-7.
• Scott Shackford says:

  March 5, 2008 at 9:23 am

  Well, I’m disappointed that you seem to think that your purchase of the Desert Dispatch entitles you to demand I compromise my editorial position and that of our company in order to accommodate you. Also, I’ve never gotten a speeding ticket in my life, so your assumption about my motivations is extremely misguided.

  Also, the Orange County Register and the Desert Dispatch are in the same company, so you’re not “punishing” me by purchasing it. In addition they share the same editorial positions that we do and get the same criticism for not blindly accepting whatever government and police officials say they should, without any factual support.