From Officer.com --
In the fall, the Navy shifted patrol duties at off-base military housing from their own force to city police agencies. At the same time, Navy police officers in Hampton Roads have not had access to a computer database that shows if a driver is a wanted criminal or has a prior record, according to the officers and the Navy.
Now, Navy police officers say their jobs have been reduced to little more than those of security guards.
Navy officials say that security at the region?s installations has been strengthened since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but Jay Stamps, a union official who represents base police, said, ?The whole base is in danger.?
?Their job is more than writing traffic tickets,? Stamps said. ?Those officers are not able to do their jobs.?
Virginia law enforcement agencies and the FBI obtain that information for free, but state law requires that other criminal justice agencies pay to connect to the system.
Navy police in Hampton Roads had access to the system until September, when the Navy stopped paying Virginia for its connection.
?We should be bringing the system back up in the next couple of weeks,? said Capt. Shawn Morrissey, director of public safety for the Navy Mid-Atlantic region.
Still, some base police think that the Navy?s actions against them in the p ast few years have stripped them of their authority to enforce the law. In the fall of 2004, for example, the Navy removed officers? ability to enforce Virginia criminal laws.
Morrissey said the change was recommended by the Department of Defense, which determined that federal officers should be responsible only for federal crimes. If there is a state crime, the case would be turned over to municipal police, he said, adding that statistics showed few arrests for state criminal violations on federal property.
?The primary purpose of those individuals is the protection of our assets and personnel,? Morrissey said.
Even the Navy unit?s titles have changed. Although the word ?police? is emblazoned on the side of their patrol cars, the Navy police officers are officially called ?naval security force members,? Morrissey said.
?They have arrest powers,? he said. ?They can detain personnel. They?re armed and properly trained and all those things.?
Some officers think the changes are causing staff to leave in droves.
Morrissey said, however, that security has been reinforced by using private security guards and military personnel for some roles . The Navy?s service-member security positions, called master at arms, increased nationally by 10,000 since 2001, he said.
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So, in a state where armed security officers have arrest powers on property, and Special Conservators of the Peace have arrest powers as well... The Navy's Civilian Police Force feels they're doing the job of a "security guard."
It sounds like they are. Protection of assets, not enforcement of law.
In the fall, the Navy shifted patrol duties at off-base military housing from their own force to city police agencies. At the same time, Navy police officers in Hampton Roads have not had access to a computer database that shows if a driver is a wanted criminal or has a prior record, according to the officers and the Navy.
Now, Navy police officers say their jobs have been reduced to little more than those of security guards.
Navy officials say that security at the region?s installations has been strengthened since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but Jay Stamps, a union official who represents base police, said, ?The whole base is in danger.?
?Their job is more than writing traffic tickets,? Stamps said. ?Those officers are not able to do their jobs.?
Virginia law enforcement agencies and the FBI obtain that information for free, but state law requires that other criminal justice agencies pay to connect to the system.
Navy police in Hampton Roads had access to the system until September, when the Navy stopped paying Virginia for its connection.
?We should be bringing the system back up in the next couple of weeks,? said Capt. Shawn Morrissey, director of public safety for the Navy Mid-Atlantic region.
Still, some base police think that the Navy?s actions against them in the p ast few years have stripped them of their authority to enforce the law. In the fall of 2004, for example, the Navy removed officers? ability to enforce Virginia criminal laws.
Morrissey said the change was recommended by the Department of Defense, which determined that federal officers should be responsible only for federal crimes. If there is a state crime, the case would be turned over to municipal police, he said, adding that statistics showed few arrests for state criminal violations on federal property.
?The primary purpose of those individuals is the protection of our assets and personnel,? Morrissey said.
Even the Navy unit?s titles have changed. Although the word ?police? is emblazoned on the side of their patrol cars, the Navy police officers are officially called ?naval security force members,? Morrissey said.
?They have arrest powers,? he said. ?They can detain personnel. They?re armed and properly trained and all those things.?
Some officers think the changes are causing staff to leave in droves.
Morrissey said, however, that security has been reinforced by using private security guards and military personnel for some roles . The Navy?s service-member security positions, called master at arms, increased nationally by 10,000 since 2001, he said.
---
So, in a state where armed security officers have arrest powers on property, and Special Conservators of the Peace have arrest powers as well... The Navy's Civilian Police Force feels they're doing the job of a "security guard."
It sounds like they are. Protection of assets, not enforcement of law.
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