For Sale: Law Enforcement and Public Roads

With local elections coming up here in Fort Bend County, I can not help but start asking questions about the problems people seem to be overlooking.

At what point did the government get into the private security business? I understand (or at least I am told) that the contracts do not cost the county anything as the expense is pushed off to the area paying the contract. But does this include retirement benefits and legal fees incurred as part of the contract work, or the upkeep of vehicles, materials, and uniforms?

Is no one else concerned that county law enforcement is for sale to the highest bidder?! Perhaps Security Companies need to work on their marketing, because the $8 an hour security guard can call the Sheriff's Office just as quickly as the contract Constable and will not be busy writing speeding tickets while your house gets vandalized. FYI: Sweetwater spends over $300,000 a year for this service... which would be less than 1 person 24/7, they could get three times this manpower if they used private security.

The most interesting part about all this is that the county law enforcement agencies push contracts rather than work to set up Neighborhood Watch programs, which happens to be "one of the oldest and best-known crime prevention concepts in North America."

Also, whats going on with Toll Roads? I don't mind paying to use private roads... but the quasi governmental involvement screws us all over. James Baxter, President of the National Motorists Association says "if some corporation wants to build a private highway absent government involvement, regulation, and support, go for it." But at present, the system is broken, I'm paying to use public land/roads that have already been payed for before. In addition, I am forced to use them due to poor maintenance of my free roads and the fact that I'll get better gas millage when I don't have to deal with as many stop lights. I agree with Baxter, "Fix the roads that were destroyed to make the toll roads more profitable & re-time and synchronize traffic signal systems so they move traffic" and we would all live happily ever after.

On an interesting side note, rumor has it that the Constables patrolling the Toll Roads actually have no authority to enforce the speed limits on them due to the public/private rules. I'm not really sure how that works, so if someone wants to clarify that... I'd love to start treating the Toll Road as a "pay-to-play" autobahn.