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HB 526: Authorize schools to have volunteer police patrols
Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2018 5:12 pm
by rickt
Any current or retired LEO who volunteer to patrol a school will receive a tax credit equal to $2 per hour of volunteered time up to $500.
https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legisl ... 132-HB-526
Re: HB 526: Authorize schools to have volunteer police patro
Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2018 8:30 pm
by scottb
They need to sweeten that pot.
Re: HB 526: Authorize schools to have volunteer police patro
Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2018 9:22 pm
by JediSkipdogg
scottb wrote:They need to sweeten that pot.
True, but how? I don't think you can get a credit for more taxes than you pay for Ohio income tax. So really not much to sweeten it with since someone making 50k only pays about $1300 in Ohio taxes.
Not sure how many departments would allow it for current LEO. Seems like a huge liability for that department to follow. And who provides the office with a radio for faster response?
Re: HB 526: Authorize schools to have volunteer police patro
Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 6:52 am
by rickt
JediSkipdogg wrote: And who provides the office with a radio for faster response?
Many schools already have a MARCS capable radio, I know mine does. The state has a program called MARCS in Schools. Every Monday all the schools in the city do a radio test with the PD dispatcher. Has your department transitioned to MARCS yet?
Re: HB 526: Authorize schools to have volunteer police patro
Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 7:17 am
by JediSkipdogg
rickt wrote:JediSkipdogg wrote: And who provides the office with a radio for faster response?
Many schools already have a MARCS capable radio, I know mine does. The state has a program called MARCS in Schools. Every Monday all the schools in the city do a radio test with the PD dispatcher. Has your department transitioned to MARCS yet?
Yeah, Hamilton County did a few years back. I know we provide a radio to one school but not all. However, it is not to really be carried or talked on, it is hooked up to "silent alarm" style buttons throughout the school and broadcasts an automated message if any button is pushed. Kinda cool. I know they were looking at utilizing it at the Central Office and then having all the schools relay back to that, but not sure if that ever came to or not.
It is still a lot different than a radio on a person though. Multiply by the fact that a single officer in a school IMO is useless and now you double the cost. People are praising Boone County KY for the Sheriff assigning deputies to 14 elementary schools and splitting the costs with the schools. Well, where did those 14 come from? They didn't magically appear. So he is either taking them off the road, paying an off-duty detail rate (which gets tough in forcing coverage if people don't want to work it) or paying overtime. We'll see how long that lasts as I see it only as political.
I still look at what Butler County Sheriff Jones is doing as the best course. We will see how well it picks up, spreads, and is accepted.
Re: HB 526: Authorize schools to have volunteer police patro
Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 7:27 am
by carmen fovozzo
JediSkipdogg wrote:scottb wrote:They need to sweeten that pot.
True, but how? I don't think you can get a credit for more taxes than you pay for Ohio income tax. So really not much to sweeten it with since someone making 50k only pays about $1300 in Ohio taxes.
Not sure how many departments would allow it for current LEO. Seems like a huge liability for that department to follow. And who provides the office with a radio for faster response?
WHat liability is that ?
Re: HB 526: Authorize schools to have volunteer police patro
Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 7:40 am
by JediSkipdogg
carmen fovozzo wrote:JediSkipdogg wrote:scottb wrote:They need to sweeten that pot.
True, but how? I don't think you can get a credit for more taxes than you pay for Ohio income tax. So really not much to sweeten it with since someone making 50k only pays about $1300 in Ohio taxes.
Not sure how many departments would allow it for current LEO. Seems like a huge liability for that department to follow. And who provides the office with a radio for faster response?
WHat liability is that ?
Any time an officer is on-duty the department is accepting a lot more liability for them doing everything correctly. Off-duty, they can claim they had no control over the employee. In my time in law enforcement, I've never seen a lawsuit for off-duty police officers. But on-duty, I see many a year from various local departments.
Re: HB 526: Authorize schools to have volunteer police patro
Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 5:46 pm
by docachna
JediSkipdogg wrote:[
Any time an officer is on-duty the department is accepting a lot more liability for them doing everything correctly. Off-duty, they can claim they had no control over the employee. In my time in law enforcement, I've never seen a lawsuit for off-duty police officers. But on-duty, I see many a year from various local departments.
My understanding is that Columbus PD (and maybe others) don't allow their officers to work "side jobs", where they are an independent contractor to the mall/bar/whatever. They only allow "special duty" gigs, where the customer pays the city, who pays the officers as commissioned LEO's. I believe that may have been the case at one time; may have changed.
Re: HB 526: Authorize schools to have volunteer police patro
Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 7:02 pm
by JediSkipdogg
docachna wrote:JediSkipdogg wrote:[
Any time an officer is on-duty the department is accepting a lot more liability for them doing everything correctly. Off-duty, they can claim they had no control over the employee. In my time in law enforcement, I've never seen a lawsuit for off-duty police officers. But on-duty, I see many a year from various local departments.
My understanding is that Columbus PD (and maybe others) don't allow their officers to work "side jobs", where they are an independent contractor to the mall/bar/whatever. They only allow "special duty" gigs, where the customer pays the city, who pays the officers as commissioned LEO's. I believe that may have been the case at one time; may have changed.
Quite a few cities are like that. All special details for my department must go through the department. So Officer Smith can't go work a Bengals game unless Cincinnati or Hamilton County calls my department and it is "authorized and approved." The business then pays the officers directly. The department then sends a separate bill if a police car is utilized/requested to get reimbursed for that.
Another department by mine requires all requests go through the city and finance takes a processing fee out. They call it fringe benefits but what is funny is they even take it out when an officer from another department works in their city. Not sure how they can bill a business for my department's fringe benefits and not give us the money.
And another department by mine will not allow officers to work anything outside of their city.