Letter: Important to Consider Quantitative and Qualitative Variables in Regards to Police Headquarters

Friday, 17 December 2010 00:00

On Dec. 2, I attended the meeting at Schreiber High School relating to the construction of new Port Washington Police District headquarters. Nearly universally, those attendees who spoke voiced concern about the approximate $10 million cost of acquisition of the land and construction of the building; many said the project should not be done at all.

I believe that every equation has not only a quantitative variable in it, but also a qualitative one. Focusing in on only one of these variables can lead to judgments later regretted. I, too, am concerned about the quantitative costs and based on what I heard and saw in the Police District’s presentation, further study is indicated. However, on a qualitative basis, police officer morale is significant as well. In response to my question, Police Chief Kilfoil said without equivocation that the uniformed officers who patrol the streets of Port Washington 24 hours a day, seven days a week, believe the new headquarters are imperative, that the current headquarters, dating back to 1952, impairs their ability to keep Port safe.

If the project is nixed and police officer morale drops, then we may wind up with a cheap police department, but that can be expensive, especially in this vital area of the safety of Port residents.

Sidney M. Segall