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Survey: Many Voters Support Code Cops With Guns
April 18, 2011
After a recent tentative decision by the Escambia County County Commission to allow Environmental Code Enforcement Officers to carry a firearm if they have a concealed weapons permit, a telephone polls shows Escambia citizens have mixed feelings about the idea.
Local polling company Open Market Research asked 400 likely voters their opinion on deputizing and arming code enforcement officers. Only 38 percent said yes, while just over 22.5 percent said no. That left about 40 percent of respondents undecided.
But when asked their opinion of code enforcement officers with concealed weapons permits being able to take their gun with them on the job, nearly 50 percent said yes, 22 percent said no and those left were undecided or needing more information.
“I think this shows the public understanding of the dangers facing even code enforcement officers in Escambia County” OMR Principal Greg Fink said.
Comments
13 Responses to “Survey: Many Voters Support Code Cops With Guns”
An untrained EEO without a psychological evaluation and a gun, for the enforcement job in this case, just makes another department in this county that will rightfully get a reputation for excessive use of force. THEY ARE INSPECTORS ! They need to look and leave, if threatened then it needs to become public knowledge that the LEO’s will be there immediately and you WILL go to jail. Geesh how crazy do we have to act.
I do not believe that someone would threaten them to the point they need a gun. If they are that frightened then they need to call 911 like the rest of us.
An inspectors authority comes from everyone understanding that if you don’t comply with a WRITTEN code, that there will be punitive consequences.
I’m all for cameras , not guns, a picture or video will prove everything.
Been there, done that, and never needed a gun…..
If they are going to enforce code. Then do it the right way and provide them training and a weapon. The part about personal gun and conceal carry is just a crock to keep from spending money to support them. They may not have enough sense to carry a weapon. They should be trained and supported or forget it. This asking for trouble for the officer and possibly an innocent citizen.
Gimme a break.
Sandra,
in florida animals are considered property and if someone shoots them, on your property, they might at best get an animal cruelty charge or weapon violation, and that is only if they are caught. if it is off your property expect no charges against them and you would be held responsible (ie civil suite against you for your animals actions)
pets can be cute, fuzzy and our best friends, but everyone of them is a legal liability that the owner is responsible for.
yes the castle doctrine states a citizen has the right to “lawfully” defend themselves with out an obligation for flight first. This means felons better not have a gun, and you better be in iminate danger for you or your family. a person ringing the door bell does not qualify as danger. if they try to come in, then yes. common sense (and training) also says you engage or challenge a person first. this is why cops yell or order a person to stop and don’t shoot first. a trained professional (i.e code enforcement, law enforcement, fire, rescue, Etc) knows to identify themselves as such when entering property. any idiot that chooses to shoot at them befor or after they identify themselves deserves what ever they get! and in florida if it involves a gun, you WILL GET JAIL TIME!
I bet that more than half of the Eviromental Enforcement Officers would be able to legally obtain the concealed weapons permit.
EEO is the new name for Code Enforcement Officer in Escambia County.
The prior bubbas of the force ruined their public image so bad, they had to change the name of the department.
Ok code can have guns, civilians can have guns. Dont we have a law that states something about if someone comes onto your property and you feel your life is in danger you can shoot them? So now you’re going to give these guys guns and see who gets frightened first and who pulls the trigger first hmmmmm,( because “I was scared” will be the defense) doesn’t sound too bright to me. NO GUNS FOR CODE ENFORCEMENT. Let them observe , make a report, send a letter, and observe to see if the problem has been corrected. If it hasn’t then the police can serve a court summons. End of problem, there is no reason for them to speak to anyone other than by phone or if the person makes a civilized request for the code guy to come to their property.
Code enforcement isn’t trained for anything other than what they do . BTW where is the “code” for what is allowable written, instead of buying guns for them how about a book, website, or pamphlet to each homeowner, so we know what the rules are., that they are not arbitrary and apply to everyone equally. Although common sense should apply.
I’m all for education……
And don’t throw your garbage out the back door, dump your washerwater in the street or run pipes to the woods. Dont call code enforcement on your neighbors just to be hateful.
Wishing for Utopia………
These telephone polls are sketchy at best. 400 is a very small sample, margin of error was not stated but is usually 3 to 5%. 40% undecided is huge and a statistical red flag that the questions were too either vague or the surveyors are not providing enough information. Either way giving non-LE county employees the right to arm themselves on the job will not accomplish much. The County will not back them up legally, people will not give them more respect, and LEOs will be angry because of all the training they had to go through to carry weapons in an enforcement role. The County could give them non-lethal, effective means of physical and legal protections.
This is not a good idea! As a retired LEO and current code officer, I can speak with some authority on the issue. Code enforcement by its very nature is an adversarial and dangerous job, where being threatened with bodily harm is a fairly common occurrence, especially when issuing an expensive citation or notice. Since most of us don’t like being told what to do, especially when it pertains to the use of our own property, emotions usually run high. That being said, code enforcement officers are not hired with the intent of carrying a firearm.
Very few agencies conduct any type of psychological assessment of new hires and certainly no firearms training of any kind is conducted. That does not mean that they should not be provided with the tools and training necessary to protect themselves, such as ballistic vests, radios and realistic defensive tactics training when immediate retreat is not possible and the SHTF.
Law enforcement training is mandated by statute and LEO’s go through months of academy and field training before being assigned to the street. On the other hand, there is no required state certification for CEO’s and most receive little to no training before being assigned to the street. Professionalism and mandated standards need to come first before considering arming CEO’s.
Aside from hiring and training officers using the same standards as applied for law enforcement, anything else is a dangerous shortcut and places the citizens at risk to a lawsuit or worse.
It was my understanding that the enforcement officer could not come on private property uninvited….and that his/her viewing was done from public right of way. The one who visited our “shop side of our property” recently was very courteous……and I really see no reason for them to have to carry a gun, but I also would not hinder anyone from self-preservation against all the nuts in the world.
Code enforcement has proven in the past that they cant be trusted with weapons. This is why McNesby rescinded their deputy status. If they think that they may potentially encounter a problem then they should feel free to call a professional lawman like the rest of us. As for protection from dogs….what a pitiful excuse to carry a gun. My dogs are trained to act menacing towards strangers on my property but not to bite. If code enforcement comes onto my PRIVATE property unannounced and shoots one of my dogs there will be hell to pay.
Doesn’t speak will for ‘civil society’ when a code official feels the need to carry a gun. They have no criminal justice training so they can’t be policing the neighborhoods, so one has to assume they receive far too many violent threats.
will someone please tell me what these officers are for and what they do. I’ve seen their vehicles and was just wondering.
I have been in bad nieghborhoods and threatened and had guns pointed at me and I work for the county do I get to carry my gun? I already hold a concealed permit, open the door and lets see what happens. WE leave the area call an LEO and return to do our job after they have secured the sight.